I remember some nice lists about British slang used in Beatles' music (link, and I wonder if we could compile such a list with Queen tracks. Any contribution is welcomed
I can contribute a question.
In "Friends Will Be Friends," there is something about "taking all the cash and leaving you with the lumber."
Does "leaving you with the lumber" actually mean anything, colloquially, in that line? I wasn't sure if it was an unknown Britishism or just random lazy lyricizing.
I've never asked any actual British people for fear of sounding like a big nerd, but I never worry about that here on Queenzone :)
--Egret
No "leaving you with the lumber" actually means something along the lines of "all the problems that come with it".
So in Friends Will Be Friends, "taking all the cash leaving you with the lumber" literally refers to the problems that are faced when you have no money.
pcgenius9 wrote: No "leaving you with the lumber" actually means something along the lines of "all the problems that come with it".
So in Friends Will Be Friends, "taking all the cash leaving you with the lumber" literally refers to the problems that are faced when you have no money.
Thanks for the explanation. I'm glad it means something. I feel all enlightened and cosmopolitan now :)
--Egret
online dictionary says
Something useless or cumbersome
and calls it a chiefly british expression. there you go
if you want a song full of britishisms
you need look no further than
killer queen
Ravenetta wrote: what about "soups in the laundry bag?" call me naive but i havent heard that phrase outside the song...
but i love all the euphamismns to craziness in IGSM
I think it means poverty, the old imagery of a bum carrying a stick over his shoulder with a laundry bag tied to the end of it with soup or whatever else inside the bag. Hence the next line the song "now you got strings gonna lose your rag"