I love this song! With its music and rhythm, it's definitely reminiscent of a traditional folk song (Irish, I'm presuming), and the words "gent" and "thee" support this. I love the line "I'll dance with my peg leg a-wiggling at the knee" because it's just so whimsical. In a modern context, it's rather like the next song on the album (I want to see the bright lights...): "At the end of the Rainbow" with its general pessimism and disdain for the wealthy. I love the teasing nature as she goes from calling him "a gent such as thee" to "a snob like you" without breaking her stride!
@ElenSila I love the song as well, but would point out the "peg leg a-wiggling at the knee" is just as ghastly as it is whimsical... that's Richard Thompson for you! He revels in the underbelly of life--similar to "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" in that way. And Linda sings this song with such indelicate relish... you can really smell the gutter and grime off this "Girl."
@ElenSila I love the song as well, but would point out the "peg leg a-wiggling at the knee" is just as ghastly as it is whimsical... that's Richard Thompson for you! He revels in the underbelly of life--similar to "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" in that way. And Linda sings this song with such indelicate relish... you can really smell the gutter and grime off this "Girl."
I love this song! With its music and rhythm, it's definitely reminiscent of a traditional folk song (Irish, I'm presuming), and the words "gent" and "thee" support this. I love the line "I'll dance with my peg leg a-wiggling at the knee" because it's just so whimsical. In a modern context, it's rather like the next song on the album (I want to see the bright lights...): "At the end of the Rainbow" with its general pessimism and disdain for the wealthy. I love the teasing nature as she goes from calling him "a gent such as thee" to "a snob like you" without breaking her stride!
@ElenSila I love the song as well, but would point out the "peg leg a-wiggling at the knee" is just as ghastly as it is whimsical... that's Richard Thompson for you! He revels in the underbelly of life--similar to "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" in that way. And Linda sings this song with such indelicate relish... you can really smell the gutter and grime off this "Girl."
@ElenSila I love the song as well, but would point out the "peg leg a-wiggling at the knee" is just as ghastly as it is whimsical... that's Richard Thompson for you! He revels in the underbelly of life--similar to "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" in that way. And Linda sings this song with such indelicate relish... you can really smell the gutter and grime off this "Girl."