Why is the lady a tramp just because California is cold and damp?
by 
guitarman18
ANSWERS: 7
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I assume you are refering to the song "The Lady is a Tramp" as sung by Frank Sinatra. Actually, I think if the lady is a tramp, that it is not because California is cold and damp. I am sure there is a reason more suitable for her being a tramp. But since this is a family site, I wont go into it here.
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At the time the song was written, the zeitgeist was for westward moving... the whole song is tongue in cheek. So while all the elite of New York 'oh I love California, it's so warm and dry', the 'lady' is probably referring to San Francisco, and the fact that in summer, the Californian coast IS cold and damp, because of June Gloom weather patterns. New York gets hot and cold, California is just consistently warm, and particularly in the north and the bay area, consistently cool. So yes, she hates California, it's cold and it's damp, and this sets her apart from everybody else. See other things like, 'I go to opera and stay wide awake' and 'I follow Winchell and read every line'... what she's saying is RIGHT but just unorthodox. Great song, love Cole Porter, love Frank Sinatra AND Ella Fitzgerald who both have versions... hope I helped!
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I dunno, maybe she's a hooker.
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Anyone who desires sex more often than you is a sex maniac.
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The intent of the song by Rogers and Hart song - NOT Cole Porter - was to slam a woman for being a drag and show her as uptight because she does all the proper things a lady does. The song is a dig at strict etiquette. She's no fun, the tramp. Most of us know the song from "Pal Joey," a Sinatra film set in San Francisco which IS cold - and it's damp! The song was written in 1937 for "Babes in Arms," another Rogers and Hart musical. Why in Hell they didn't change the lyric to "San Francisco" is something that bothers me. California is all about sunshine, oranges, and the Beach Boys! Now, San Francisco, there's your cold and your damp. If I sang this song at a karaoke bar, you can bet yer ass it would be about San Francisco, Charlie!
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Poetic license
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I think that the original lyrics may have been, should have been, 'Hates SAN FRANCISCO, it's cold and it's damp'. San Francisco is one of the most famous cities in the world, and probably the most beautiful city in the U.S. (and the Federation of Planets if you're a "Trekie"!), and so the song is another put-down on the lady because she hates San Francisco. Yes, I am writing this from my home in San Francisco. And San Francisco is so often cold and damp.
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