"Mean Mr. Mustard" vide "Grip of a Vyse"

As Grice notes,

'mean' sometimes means good things.
Sometimes 'bad'.

But that's AEQUI-vocal. They are the same 'vox' but hardly the same 'meaning'!

-- For consider:

Mean Mister Mustard sleeps in the park
Shaves in the dark trying to save paper
Sleeps in a hole in the road
Saving up to buy some clothes
Keeps a ten bob note up his nose
Such a mean old man
Such a mean old man

His sister Pam works in a shop
She never stops, she's a go-getter
Takes him out to look at the queen
Only place that he's ever been
Always shouts out something obscene
Such a dirty old man
Such a dirty old man

---

Mean Mister Mustard sleeps in the park
Shaves in the dark trying to save paper

-- meaning?
I cannot see how dark will economise on tree timber.


Sleeps in a hole in the road

-- Oddly. I feel I want to mean, "the whole in a road".

--

Saving up to buy some clothes
Keeps a ten bob note up his nose
Such a mean old man
Such a mean old man

-- Oddly, this Father-Williams feature in Mustard's character displays him as rather unmeany, rather (at least he does not keep keep us his ears!


-- ABRUPT change of topic here:

His sister Pam works in a shop
She never stops, she's a go-getter
Takes him out to look at the queen
Only place that he's ever been

-- alla A cat may look at the Quean?
I'm irritated that we are not provided the locale.
Somehow, I'm thinking Penny Lane.
And 'only' is hyperbolic here:
he's been to a whole in the road, too.
not to mention the da:k pa:k.


Always shouts out something obscene
Such a dirty old man
Such a dirty old man

-- Oddly, Lennon became one in due time. Just joking. Love the man!

Etc.