I Used to Work in Chicago
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I Used to Work in Chicago is a humorous traditional drinking song. The earliest printed date for the song is March 1945 in the underground mimeographed songbook Songs of the Century. Many of the lyrics are considered humorous because of the oblique sexual references.
After World War II, there were various versions of this song commercially recorded.
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[edit] Song Lyrics
As with all traditional songs, there are variations in the lyrics. Here is one example from 1945:
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- I USED TO WORK IN CHICAGO
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- Oh, I used to work in Chicago
- In a Department Store
- I used to work in Chicago -
- I did but I don't anymore.
- A lady came in and asked for a hat
- I asked her what kind she'd adore
- Felt she said, so felter I did
- I did but I don't anymore.
More commonly, and more modern:
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- I used to work in Chicago
- In an Old Department Store
- I used to work in Chicago -
- But I don't anymore!
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- A lady came in and asked for some bolts
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- Some bolts from the store?
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- Some bolts she wanted, my nuts she got !
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- Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! I don't work there any more!
Replace the words in bold with other items and actions for other verses:
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- Quebec Poutine / Hot Sauce
- Silver bath tub / A Golden Shower
- Jewelry / Pearl necklace
- Pimp Rod / Magic Stick
- Me / Really Satisfied
- <Name of the person next to you> / Really Deceived
- Assistance / AIDs
- Beer / 6-pack
- Bolts / Nuts
- Kit Kat / Four Fingers
- Butter / Spread
- Coffee / Cream
- Dinosaur / Mega Soar Ass
- Floppy Disk / Hard Drive
- Fishing Rod / Long Pole
- Doughnut / Cream-filled
- Gun / Banged
- Plumber / Pipe-cleaned
- Hammer / Nail
- Ruler / 12 inches
- Metaphysical conversation / F*cked
- Piano / Organ
- Sailors / Semen
- Translator / Cunning Linguist
- Fresh Fruits / Dirty Banana
- Latex Gloves / Dick in a Rubber
- Socks / Hose
- Cake / Layer
- Chicken / Cock
- Dog / Cocker
- Coat / Jumper
- A Drink / Liquor
- Plane / Fokker
- Shoes / Pumps
- Blouse / Jacket
- Tool / Crank
- Beef / Corned
- Nails / Spikes
- Meat / Ram
- Black and Decker / Bosch
- Shampoo / Head'n'Shoulder-ed
- Screen Door / Backdoor
- Pirate Ship / Jolly Rodgering
- An Irish Airline / Cunnilingus
- Scaffolding / An Erection
- A Coal Mine / Deep Shafting
- An Action Figurine / My Purple Headed Warrior
- Kalashnikov / Rifle
[edit] Popular Culture
- The song is sung by Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly in the film A Prairie Home Companion.
[edit] External links
- More Verses - warning some adult content
[edit] References
- Ed Cray, The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs (University of Illinois, 1992).
- Richard A. Reuss, An Annotated Field Collection of Songs From the American College Student Oral Tradition (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Masters Thesis, 1965).
