Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1924 · page 53 of 71
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #57 — page 53: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three humorous poems reflecting 1920s American society: **"The Man in the Street"** satirizes the new automobile culture. The speaker ironically claims to champion "the Man in the Street" (the common person) while actually celebrating reckless drivers—the "Kid in the Kar," the "Whiz at the Wheel," and various "Nuts" making noise. The joke is that this "man in the street" is actually a menace, honking horns and speeding, yet he boasts "FOR I AM THE MAN IN THE STREET." It mocks both automobile enthusiasm and working-class bravado. **"Every Man His Just Dessert"** uses puns based on professions: orators eat "tongue" (they talk), surveyors eat "stakes," editors get "roasted," printers eat "pie," and policemen "munch their beats." It's wordplay humor typical of period comedy. **"A Valentine"** is a cynical love poem—the speaker dismisses past romances as meaningless and declares that only the present moment matters. It's sentimental yet bleakly modern in tone. These poems reflect post-WWI American culture: automobile anxiety, workplace satire, and romantic disillusionment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
48 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang The Man In the Street (From the Gulf Coast Lumberman) You talk of the Man in the Street, The fellow who makes up the Throng, But gimme the Kid in the Kar, Gimme the Goof with the Gong, Gimme the Hick with the Horn, Gimme the Whiz at the Wheel, Gimme the Nut with the Noise, Gimme the Automobile. Who cares for the Man in the Street? The Geek only gets on the Grass— Gimme the Fish with the Ford, Gimme the Guy with the Gas, Gimme the Lad with the Liz, Gimme the Simp in the Seat, Gimme the Crump with the Crank— FOR I AM THE MAN IN THE STREET. * * * Every Man His Just Dessert The orator eats tongue, we hear, The sultan, turkey lunch; The undertaker drinks his bier, The pugilist his punch. The acrobats spring water drink, The banquet man eats toast. Surveyors eat their stakes, we think; And editors a roast. Shoemakers have filet of sole, The printer, pie and sweets. The hungry actor eats his role, Policemen munch their beats. * * * A Valentine I am thinking of lo s that have vanished, It won't quench my flame tonight. And thinking on details of former affairs Doesn't give me an ounce of delight. For thinking feeds fuel to emotions, Unhappy and sad as I am, Though hundreds I've known, tonight I'm alone, And tonight's all that matters a damn!