Shake, Rattle and Roll

The speaker complains to someone who is not behaving as he wants. He urges them to get up and do household work, then suggests that their actions are costing him money. The repeated “shake, rattle and roll” gives the song a lively, dance-like energy, but the mood is also frustrated and teasing. As the verses continue, his irritation becomes more personal: he feels wronged and describes being driven to anger.

Several images make the complaint vivid. “Make some noise with the pots and pans” means to get busy in the kitchen, not simply make noise. Calling the person “the devil in nylon hose” is an exaggerated, playful insult that presents them as troublesome or tempting. The “one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store” is a comic image of someone staring hungrily at something they want; here, it suggests the speaker is watching the other person with desire.

The repeated phrase “shake, rattle and roll” can be heard as a call to dance, but in context it may also hint at excitement, physical attraction, or emotional turmoil. The lyrics do not explain exactly what the other person has done wrong, or why the speaker’s money disappears. His complaints may be sincere, partly comic, or a mixture of both, so the song’s playful performance makes its anger hard to take entirely at face value.