Basically, this is a generic pitchman's song. While it made an excellent theme song for the British film The Magic Christian (1969) and might have some subtler "in-joke" meanings for the writers and singers involved, the meaning for the general public is right there on the surface: the narrator is giving something of considerable value away for free, and insists there's no catch and no hidden cost. Everybody likes free stuff, and the self-deprecating pitchman depicts himself as "a fool and his money" (which, as nearly every native English speaker knows from the old saying so often repeated as to be a cliche, "are soon parted") to encourage his listeners to come get their handout; but as with all such offers, supplies and time are limited, so his listeners need to come and get their handout now or else not at all.
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On a personal note, this pitch has been a personal theme for me recently while volunteering at a food pantry. On slow days, and when there's considerable lag time between our receiving an order from headquarters and the client who applied for the handout actually arriving to pick up everything we've assembled, I'll often be quietly humming or singing this song to myself while waiting. It's my way of saying (oh-so-subtly) "Our donors have supplied us with money and groceries, and we've given our time to assemble them for your benefit; so why the delay? We're ready when you are, people."
Basically, this is a generic pitchman's song. While it made an excellent theme song for the British film The Magic Christian (1969) and might have some subtler "in-joke" meanings for the writers and singers involved, the meaning for the general public is right there on the surface: the narrator is giving something of considerable value away for free, and insists there's no catch and no hidden cost. Everybody likes free stuff, and the self-deprecating pitchman depicts himself as "a fool and his money" (which, as nearly every native English speaker knows from the old saying so often repeated as to be a cliche, "are soon parted") to encourage his listeners to come get their handout; but as with all such offers, supplies and time are limited, so his listeners need to come and get their handout now or else not at all. ¶ On a personal note, this pitch has been a personal theme for me recently while volunteering at a food pantry. On slow days, and when there's considerable lag time between our receiving an order from headquarters and the client who applied for the handout actually arriving to pick up everything we've assembled, I'll often be quietly humming or singing this song to myself while waiting. It's my way of saying (oh-so-subtly) "Our donors have supplied us with money and groceries, and we've given our time to assemble them for your benefit; so why the delay? We're ready when you are, people."