Artist: The Kinks
Released: 1966
Lyrical Relic: Party line
It seems rather gimmicky to have a song start with the sound of a telephone ringing; that’s probably why they are far and few between. Blondie’s ” Hanging on the Phone” and Ratt’s “Got Me on the Line” are two that may come to mind, but The Kinks’ intro to “Party Line” nails the classic ring to a T. Before today’s seemingly endless plethora of ringtones, ALL telephones used to ring like the one that opens this song, a rather shrill drring-drring. Although this sound is not technically a lyrical relic, I’d be remiss not to point it out.
Now let’s connect to The Kinks’ party line…
Hello, who's that speaking, please? I'm on a party line Wonderin' all the time Who's on the other end? Is she big, is she small? Is she a she at all? Who's on my party line?
Back in the early days of residential phone service, having your own private phone line was cost restrictive for many; sharing a party line with others was a more affordable option, particularly in rural areas. The party line was a line serving two or more subscribers, with only one subscriber being able to use it at a time.
Anyone who shared the party line could listen in on any call if they wanted to. If you recognized who was talking, the party line would make for interesting eavesdropping and provide much fodder for gossip. And if you didn’t know who was talking, it could be equally, if not more, intriguing, as the mystery lady in this song proves to be (although it questioned whether or not it is in fact a woman).
Privacy was never guaranteed on a party line…
I can't speak without an interception This is private, please get off my line Please tell me when I can have my privacy I'd like to meet the girl who's always talking When I'm speaking on my party line
Aside from the threat of eavesdropping, you also had to contend with other callers hogging the phone line, as well as people forgetting to replace their receiver when they finished a call, thus preventing anyone else from using the line. Not surprisingly, appeals to common courtesy would often appear in newspaper ads.
A challenge arose if you wanted to call someone who shared the same party line as you. You had to dial their number, hang up and then wait and guess when you thought they may have picked up their phone. At that point, you’d pick up the phone again with a “hello?”. Maybe they’d be there, maybe they wouldn’t.
Party lines stuck around until the 80s. That was the decade in which the concept of the “party line” morphed into something a little different, a precursor of sorts to the modern Internet chat room. These party chat lines were commercial ventures that enticed bored and/or lonely folks, particularly teens, to connect and flirt with strangers over the phone and rack up expensive phone charges in the process. A full-fledged party could finally be had on a party line.
Sources
https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2017/04/telephone-history-party-lines-were-once-high-entertainment.html
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