Anything Goes

The singer jokingly compares the present with an imagined, more proper past. Things once considered shocking now seem ordinary, and standards of behavior and taste appear to have changed. The mood is playful and satirical, though the repeated claim that “anything goes” also suggests a little bewilderment at how quickly the world is changing. At the end, the speaker turns the general complaint into a flirtatious proposal.

The glimpse of a stocking represents clothing that earlier society supposedly found scandalous; it is a comic example of changing social rules. “Four-letter words” means swear words, so the image of respected writers using them pokes fun at declining standards in literature. The lines that call good bad, black white, and day night are exaggerated reversals: they suggest that familiar distinctions seem confused. “Gigolos” refers to men who charm or accompany women for money, making the singer’s complaint about romantic partners deliberately unflattering.

The song may be read as a lighthearted joke about modern life, but its nostalgia should not necessarily be taken as a serious argument that the past was better. The singer’s sweeping claims are part of the humor, and the final proposal complicates his criticism: although he says standards have fallen, he still hopes the person he addresses will say yes. Whether “anything goes” sounds liberating or troubling is left open.