“Gertcha” by Chas & Dave
The title of this song (“Gertcha”) is a slang term by and large originating from East London. It’s one of those types of terms that is actually an entire phrase contracted down to just one word.
And said phrase would be something like ‘get out of here’ – and not in a polite kinda way. Or more specifically “gertcha” is sort of like a curse word, especially when you combine it with “cowson”, as is done in the hook of the song.
But this is not to imply that this track is offensive. Rather it’s a comedy sort of making fun of the word in general. By extension we can even say it’s making fun of the cockney culture – i.e. the people from whom the term “gertcha” originated – though again in a playful manner. Indeed the target of said taunting is by and large one individual.
For the singer’s own father obviously belongs to this group, as “gertcha” is a phrase he utters daily, sometimes even in cursing the narrator (i.e. when he uses it with “cowson”).
And the singer himself is trying to figure out exactly where the phrase came from, since he’s never seen it in a school book. But again, his dad “says it every time… he gets mad”.
So it’s like the way his pops uses it is as more of a general swear term. In fact in the second verse he illustrates some situations in which dad is compelled to utter the phrase, such as when kids are annoying him or when the paperboy is delaying in delivering the news.
The “Gertcha” Man
The narrator also goes on to elaborate that the “old man” is sort of self-righteous if you will, the type who would ‘preach’ and therefore condemn – and therefore curse on the fly.
In fact his father is a World War II vet, implying that he’s grizzled and set in his ways. Verily “the enemy” in the war “gave up without a fight”, implying that even they were intimidated by him, the “gertcha” man if you will.
But this is not to suggest that the singer looks up to his dad. Rather, he doesn’t quite get what his mom saw in him in the first place, because it’s like dude is always cursing throughout.
In fact the rest of the song following the second verse is largely dedicated to pointing out even more situations that pisses dad off and can effectively send him on a “gertcha rant”.
Amongst these is the narrator himself waking up with his music, England losing a big football game, his brother spoiling a bar of shoes, houseflies annoying dad while he’s eating, his father getting into beef with his mom, etc.
Indeed by the end of the day, it is obvious that this song isn’t about the word “gertcha” but rather the singer’s father, a hot head who seemingly goes off at even the smallest annoyance. And again, it is all funny. But it can also be ascertained, on a more serious note, that perhaps the narrator dad’s hot temper alarmed him at times.
Chas & Dave
Chas Hodges (1943-2018) and Dave Peacock, aka Chas & Dave, were a British musical duo who were active for about for about 40 years beginning in the early 1970s.
They were more of a local act, in that the hits they scored were for the most part relegated to their homeland. In fact they specialized in a brand of music known as rockney, i.e. rock n’ roll mixed with a native London dialect known as cockney.
Chas & Dave have appeared numerous times on the UK Singles Chart during the 20th century. And in that regard, their biggest non-collaboration hit was 1980’s “Rabbit”, which reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart. But as far as collaborations go, they once teamed up with the Tottenham Hotspur football club to drop a track called “Ossie’s Dream” (1981), which made it to number five on the Chart.
But “Gertcha” was in fact their breakthrough track. It reached a peak position of number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained on the list for an 8-week timespan.
The song is also known for being featured on the commercial of an English beer known as Courage Bitter.
Gertcha was released in 1979 as part of Chas & Dave’s third album, “Don’t Give a Monkey’s”. And that label that put it out was one they ran themselves called Rockney.
Chas Hodges passed away in 2018 at the age of 74. The cause of death was pneumonia.
