Harrison3.com

This has been bugging me for nearly three decades — there’s a line of the John Cougar (if I said Mellencamp, it would be an anachronism, as in 1982, he had not yet found the guts to tell his management that “Cougar” sounded kind of lame there, Johnny Bravo) song “Jack and Diane” where, after a quick introduction to the subjects, Jack says something to Diane that,to me, always sounded like:

Dribble off them Bobby Brooks legs and do what I please

I have no idea what that means.

• I figured the dribbling off had something to do with sloppily consuming the chili dog (outside the Tasty Fre-eze).
• No idea what the hell “Bobby Brooks legs” were.
• (“Do what I please,” I think I got that one.)

For 29 years now, it sort of bothered me, but not enough to actually do anything about it. Until this morning. 

For reasons unbeknownst to me, the song was in my head when I got up. So I hopped onto the Google. According to SlangCity, the line is:

Dribble off them Bobby Brooks pants, let me do what I please

Right!

I mean, what?

• Let’s see — “Dribble off” apparently means “remove.” Must be an Indiana thing. 
• Bobbie Brooks is, according to the “Encyclopedia of Cleveland History,” a “leader in the production of women’s apparel.” So apparently these pants are to be removed.
• This confirmed my previous interpretation of “let me do what I please.” 

Maybe they do need the Bible Belt (which I thought was “Bible band”) to save their souls.