I love the twenties and I think it is captured beautifully in the song.
However, this was wrong on at least one lyric for certain. The actual line is "a neck of pearls," not curls. And then I could be wrong on this one, but I thought it said "making oaths with a single breath" instead of "making o's with her cigarette." Both lyrics would fit, but the one I think it is seems to fit better to me.
In the story of Romeo and Juliet, even though Juliet is somewhat more cautious than Romeo, they are both very impetuous and don't think of the consequences. They make promises but cannot be together. So the Flapper Girl in the song is quick to make oaths of loyalty ("with a single breath") but when the narrator leaves for a while (perhaps to fight in WWI) she does her own thing and virtually forgets about him. She becomes a flapper and doesn't go by society's rules. From the "did HE look..." part, I'm thinking it is referring to another man, for whom she has left the narrator. To the narrator, she is still the "lady" that he left behind, despite her new lifestyle. And he wants her back. He bribes her with wealth and status ("I'm gonna buy one for us when I get back, a big Cadillac" "You can wave to all her friends") and love ("I'll never leave you again" "if I wrote you a song")_whichever is more important to her, as long as she comes back. To the end, he clings to the belief that she WILL come back, although acknowledging that lovers come and go, he does not think it possible in their relationship. This ending leaves you a little sad, because it is apparent that he loves her so much more than she will ever love him.
I love the twenties and I think it is captured beautifully in the song.
However, this was wrong on at least one lyric for certain. The actual line is "a neck of pearls," not curls. And then I could be wrong on this one, but I thought it said "making oaths with a single breath" instead of "making o's with her cigarette." Both lyrics would fit, but the one I think it is seems to fit better to me.
In the story of Romeo and Juliet, even though Juliet is somewhat more cautious than Romeo, they are both very impetuous and don't think of the consequences. They make promises but cannot be together. So the Flapper Girl in the song is quick to make oaths of loyalty ("with a single breath") but when the narrator leaves for a while (perhaps to fight in WWI) she does her own thing and virtually forgets about him. She becomes a flapper and doesn't go by society's rules. From the "did HE look..." part, I'm thinking it is referring to another man, for whom she has left the narrator. To the narrator, she is still the "lady" that he left behind, despite her new lifestyle. And he wants her back. He bribes her with wealth and status ("I'm gonna buy one for us when I get back, a big Cadillac" "You can wave to all her friends") and love ("I'll never leave you again" "if I wrote you a song")_whichever is more important to her, as long as she comes back. To the end, he clings to the belief that she WILL come back, although acknowledging that lovers come and go, he does not think it possible in their relationship. This ending leaves you a little sad, because it is apparent that he loves her so much more than she will ever love him.
Anyways, that's what I think..,