Not A Hoot!

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a peculiar scene where people, fanning themselves with "turkey wing fans," project an air of "elegant" idleness. The narrator observes them, fixated on their movement, specifically how they might pass him. This observation takes a sharp turn when he likens their indifference to the way people ignore someone "asking for money in an alley." It's a stark contrast between perceived sophistication and the harsh reality of overlooked desperation. This tension between outward appearance and inner reality is central. The subjects of the narrator's gaze aren't just passively sitting; they're actively emulating a specific persona. They mimic a writer's style, his "rolling slouch," and even his vices, cultivating a "hard-boiled melancholy." This imitation extends to his slow, deliberate writing process, suggesting a deep, almost obsessive, admiration or perhaps a critique of manufactured artistic personas. The repetition of the "turkey wing fans" and the "elegant" feeling, immediately followed by the alley comparison, hammers home the central irony. The narrator seems to be dissecting the performance of being an artist or a certain type of person. The final, stark declaration, "But it is, an alley," strips away any pretense, confirming the narrator's perception of the scene's underlying bleakness, regardless of the fans or the cultivated melancholy.