"Blimp" is a term for an airship or balloon, and the line "Look up in the sky, there's a dirigible there" seems to bear this interpretation out. Also, "drazy hoops" seem to be an evocation of whirring propellers.
Nevertheless, it's worth bearing in mind that Don Van Vliet grew up in the outer suburbs of Los Angeles, on the edge of the desert. Although it was moribund (and would disappear completely by 1961), the Pacific Electric tram/light railway network (operating out of the terminal at 6th and Main) still extended even into the farthest-flung parts of the metropolis during Don's childhood and teenage years, and the familiar Red Car trains were generally referred to as "blimps". Perhaps he had these in mind, too.
@SuccessStory As someone of a similar age to Don Van Vliet, and who also grew up in Southern California, I have vivid childhood memories of the Goodyear Blimp flying over. The blimps were (and maybe are?) moored in Carson. I couldn't say if they got as far as Lancaster, where DVV lived. Yeah, about those drazy hoops, I've still got no idea where that phrase came from, though I agree it seems to reference propellors.
@SuccessStory As someone of a similar age to Don Van Vliet, and who also grew up in Southern California, I have vivid childhood memories of the Goodyear Blimp flying over. The blimps were (and maybe are?) moored in Carson. I couldn't say if they got as far as Lancaster, where DVV lived. Yeah, about those drazy hoops, I've still got no idea where that phrase came from, though I agree it seems to reference propellors.
"Blimp" is a term for an airship or balloon, and the line "Look up in the sky, there's a dirigible there" seems to bear this interpretation out. Also, "drazy hoops" seem to be an evocation of whirring propellers.
Nevertheless, it's worth bearing in mind that Don Van Vliet grew up in the outer suburbs of Los Angeles, on the edge of the desert. Although it was moribund (and would disappear completely by 1961), the Pacific Electric tram/light railway network (operating out of the terminal at 6th and Main) still extended even into the farthest-flung parts of the metropolis during Don's childhood and teenage years, and the familiar Red Car trains were generally referred to as "blimps". Perhaps he had these in mind, too.
@SuccessStory As someone of a similar age to Don Van Vliet, and who also grew up in Southern California, I have vivid childhood memories of the Goodyear Blimp flying over. The blimps were (and maybe are?) moored in Carson. I couldn't say if they got as far as Lancaster, where DVV lived. Yeah, about those drazy hoops, I've still got no idea where that phrase came from, though I agree it seems to reference propellors.
@SuccessStory As someone of a similar age to Don Van Vliet, and who also grew up in Southern California, I have vivid childhood memories of the Goodyear Blimp flying over. The blimps were (and maybe are?) moored in Carson. I couldn't say if they got as far as Lancaster, where DVV lived. Yeah, about those drazy hoops, I've still got no idea where that phrase came from, though I agree it seems to reference propellors.