Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 47 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three humorous poems with no visible illustrations. The content satirizes 1920s American life, particularly Prohibition-era New York City. "Fairies Revel in Moonshine" jokes that Shakespeare's *Merry Wives of Windsor* prophetically described modern Manhattan, where "moonshine" (illegal alcohol) and Broadway revelry dominate. The Shakespeare quotes are recontextualized to mock contemporary drinking culture. "Something Stirring" presents darkly comic verses about a woman's death, culminating in a crude punchline about a cow hit by a freight train—typical of the magazine's crude humor style. "That's When I Need You" parodies romantic songs through a hen's perspective, humorously inverting traditional love-song sentiment: a hen only "needs" the rooster when eggs are required for the farmer. It's bawdy agricultural humor typical of *Whiz Bang*, a publication known for ribald, working-class comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang 45 Fairies Revel in Moonshine When old Bill Shakespeare outlined his tale for “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” he certainly used extraordinary judgment in peering into the future. His fifth act and fifth scene are almost a duplicate of present life in New York City—that grand village by the sea, where red neckties sell at a pre-mium and moonshine lights the bright Broadway. Here are just four lines that tell a story in themselves: They are fairies; he that speaks to them shall die; I’ll wink and couch; no man their works must eye. Fairies, black, grey, green and white, You moonshine revellers, and shades of night. * * * Something Stirring (First Convulsion.) Her death was so sudden, Her death was so sad, She gave up her life, ’Twas all that she had. (Second Convulsion.) She now lies sleeping silently Beneath a willow bough; There’s always something stirring When a freight train meets a cow. * * * That’s When I Need You (Serenade of a Whiz Bang Hen.) I don’t need you in the morning, I don’t need you in the night, I don’t need you when I’m hungry, I don’t need you when I fight; I don’t need you when I’m lonely, I don’t need you when I’m blue— But when Farmer Billy wants some eggs, That’s when I need you.