@richyrocksenglish the nursery rhyme monday’s child, as seen in the popular series wednesday, is one example of how the word gay used to be used. visit richyrocks.com for many more #fypシ゚ #yourpage #english #vocabulary #englishcoach #englishpractice #ingles #vocabularioeningles #wednesday #mondayschild ♬ Child In Time – Deep Purple
as the tiktok explains, in the second half of the 20th century, the word gay was part of a cultural awakening. in this era gay is associated almost exclusively with sexuality, specifically homosexuality. in olden days though, gay was a synonym for happy. in addition to awakening and olden days, the video provides simple definitions for: nursery rhyme, be born, woe, easy breezy, sabbath, bonny, blithe, well, meant and even. watch the tiktok again and listen for the combination pretty much fucked (more or less doomed). the phrase there are also great examples of though, throughout and through–words from this famous and beloved spiderman meme.
if u would like to read the full nursery rhyme monday’s child (mentioned in the tiktok) click here and scroll to the bottom of the post.
and finally, as promised in the tiktok: a diverse playlist of songs that demonstrates the change in definition gay underwent (experienced) at the end of the 20th century. almost all of these songs are straightforward (direct, easy) examples of the original definition for gay, with no intention of being ironic. the first two though…
eminem‘s track houdini alludes to a third definition for gay. listen at 3:00 for
sometimes i wonder what the old me’d say
(if what?) if he could see the way shit is today
(look at this shit, man) he’d probably say that everything is gay (like happy!)
this is an amazing 3 bars from eminem. when he says everything is gay, his idea is stupid or too soft. nowadays this usage is widely considered insensitive and oblivious. in recognition, em immediately and possibly sarcastically walks back (changes his position on) this idea by saying he actually is using gay to say happy.
additionally, he utilizes 2nd conditional (his hypothetical rumination–i wonder what the old me’d say if he could see shit today) and avoids an embedded question (changes the standard question what would the old me say to the old me would say because it is embedded in the phrase i wonder)
in a totally different genre, the producers was a movie released in 2005 but based on a musical written at the end of the 1960s. the song keep it gay is clever wordplay (humor based on multiple meanings of words) that indicates an understanding of both definitions for gay and the lyrics in this clip from the movie are full of plenty of other dynamic vocabulary expressions too…
people want laughter when they see a showthe last thing they’re after’s a litany of woea happy ending will pep up your play…oedipus won’t bomb…if he winds up with mom!keep it gay!
a litany is a long, repetetive list. woe, as indicated in the tiktok at the top of the page, means misery. pep up means give it energy. bomb means fail. wind up indicates an unexpected ending.
@wayoffbroadwaypod “Keep it Gay” from The Producers #broadway #musicals #muscialtok #broadwaytok #broadwaymusicals #byebyebirdie #fyp #wayoffbroadway #theproducers ♬ original sound – wayoffbroadwaypod
country legend loretta lynn‘s song one’s on the way contrasts her lifestyle as a mother in topeka, kansas with several more glamorous examples. in the third line she says
the white house social season should be glitterin’ an’ gay
glittering means brilliant or amazing.
another country music example is in the chorus of hank williams’ 1952 classic jambalaya, which describes a saturday night with his girlfriend like this…
pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay
pick is a style of guitar playing. fill fruit jar refers to drinking alcohol out of a fruit jar
the first two lines of the early rock and roll track why do fools fall in love? by frankie lymon and the teenagers, say…
why do fools fall in love?why do birds sing so gay?
the song was used in the popular george lucas coming of age movie american graffiti
while birds singing gaily have been a symbol of falling in love for centuries, in the 21st century, there are hundreds of hilarious memes of conspiracy theorist alex jones totally pissed off (angry) because chemicals in the water are making frogs gay 🤷♂️
the first verse of twisting the night away by the great sam cooke says
let me tell you ’bout a placesomewhere up-a new york waywhere the people are so gaytwistin’ the night away
up new york way is another way to say in new york.
laughing on the outside by bernadette carroll starts with the chorus and at :30 the first verse says…
they see me night and daytimehaving such a gay timethey don’t know what I go through
that’s amore might be dean martin’s most famous song and at :20 in this video he mentions a gay tarantella which is a happy italian dance.
the final two lines of the second verse of south of the border from the 1962 album dino latino says
it was fiesta and we were so gaysouth of the border, down mexico way
the border is an imaginary line that divides mexico and the u.s. down mexico way is a poetic way to say in mexico
papa loves mambo appears in several series and movies including back to the future 2, only murders in the building and ocean’s 11, the third line of the song is…
look at ’em sway with it, gettin’ so gay with it
sway means move from side to side
like dean martin and perry como, jerry vale was a 20th century italian-american crooner (romantic male singer with a soft, low voice). when u are in the same place as your ex, vale recommends not only pretending that u don’t see her, but additionally, pretending to be gay (remember, happy). listen at :30 in this scene from goodfellas
pretend u don’t need her, my heartbut smile and pretend to be gay
different from the spanish verb pretender, pretend means give the [false] impression, fake it.
similarly, the great pretender is about someone who is faking happiness, NOT the spanish pretendiente. with all due respect to the great freddie mercury, i prefer the platters version of this standard, but freddie’s version feels much more ironic. listen at 1:25
the first verse of another song featuring freddie mercury on vocals, brighton rock by queen describes a romantic walk under happy lighting near brighton beach. specifically…
‘neath the gay illuminations all along the promenade
neath is an abbreivaited form of beneath which means under. a promenade is a place for walking, frequently next to a body of water.
fame (n) is one of david bowie‘s most famous (adj) songs 😹 songfacts.com says: bowie whispers something at the end. it is rumored to be either “brings so much pain” or “feeling so gay, feeling gay.”
a comment about the lyric on lyrics site genius .com speculates that this whisper probably means happy but is open to interpretation. what do u think?
elo‘s all over the world lists several cities where there is a party going on (happening) including gay paris, a widely used nickname, at 1:40
listen to the opening (:35) and the closing credits (1:08 & 1:18) for the flintstones. the lyrics describe time spent with the flintstones as
a gay old time
there are several kids songs that use gay to describe a happy disposition.
giselle‘s call to action to her new animal friends at the beginning of happy working song from the movie enchanted is…
alright, everyone. let’s tidy things up
tidy up means clean and arrange.
and around 1:25 in the video giselle mentions a gay refrain (repeated phrase). in this case, the refrain and the title of the song are the same–happy working song.
the first verse of the australian nursery rhyme kookaburra song ends with this line that referes to the kookaburra bird
gay your life must be
this structure coincidentally sounds like the star wars character yoda. it would be more typical to say your life must be gay. must in this instance inidicates a strong, logical conclusion NOT an obligation
and this song celebrates the easter bunny aka (also known as) peter cottontail. the first two verses say…
here comes peter cottontailhoppin’ down the bunny trailhippity hoppin’, easter‘s on its way
bringin’ every girl and boybaskets full of easter joythings to make your easter bright and gay
finally, there are a few examples of christmas being recognized as the gayest time of the year…
in the most wonderful time of the year made famous by andy williams the lyrics talk about gay, happy meetings (listen at :25)
make the yuletide gay
and the christmas carol deck the halls contains the line
don we now our gay apparel
translated to how we speak english today, this means time to put on our festive, happy clothes.
this is not the original idea of the lyrics to deck the halls
check out this link for analysis of several other curious words in deck the halls
the flintstones & their neighbors the rubbles were always gayest at christmas time (myfreewallpapers.net)
do u know any other examples where gay means happy? share your answers under leave a reply
