What do hot dogs, jumping frogs and Albuquerque have in common? They are all American (and the names sound rather quaint to the UK ear). I don't think anybody will argue about 'Hot Dogs' and 'Albuquerque' but just to clarify, in the UK there is only one type of frog and it jumps so calling a UK frog a "jumping frog" is like calling a fish a "swimming fish". Thus the chorus is a random collection of Americanisms thrown together in a hapless attempt to appeal to the American market.
When the song was released, Prefab Sprout had had reasonable success in the UK album charts but had not done well in the US. Like the title of the album ' From Langley Park to Memphis' the song is about a UK singer wanting to make it big in the USA and therefore become 'The King of Rock and Roll - completely' (his claim actually to be so is ironic). But the singer has met with a cool and indifferent reception in the US ("When she looks at me and laughs ...") so has become self-critical and critical of his past songs.
Possibly the song is written from the perspective of someone who never made it, as other interpretations suggest, but I think it is more a reflection of the writer's aspiration at that time to break-in to the American market.
What do hot dogs, jumping frogs and Albuquerque have in common? They are all American (and the names sound rather quaint to the UK ear). I don't think anybody will argue about 'Hot Dogs' and 'Albuquerque' but just to clarify, in the UK there is only one type of frog and it jumps so calling a UK frog a "jumping frog" is like calling a fish a "swimming fish". Thus the chorus is a random collection of Americanisms thrown together in a hapless attempt to appeal to the American market.
When the song was released, Prefab Sprout had had reasonable success in the UK album charts but had not done well in the US. Like the title of the album ' From Langley Park to Memphis' the song is about a UK singer wanting to make it big in the USA and therefore become 'The King of Rock and Roll - completely' (his claim actually to be so is ironic). But the singer has met with a cool and indifferent reception in the US ("When she looks at me and laughs ...") so has become self-critical and critical of his past songs.
Possibly the song is written from the perspective of someone who never made it, as other interpretations suggest, but I think it is more a reflection of the writer's aspiration at that time to break-in to the American market.