provides the following explanation:
Some of the references are now quite opaque, but we can take a fair shot at a few. In the second verse, the City Road was, still is, a well-known street in London, more than a mile long. The Eagle was a famous public house and music hall, which lay near the east end of the road on the corner of Shepherdess Walk; this had started its life as a tea-garden, but was turned into a music hall in 1825 (one of the very first); it ended its days as a Salvation Army centre and was pulled down in 1901. However, it was replaced by another pub, which still exists under the same name.
The City Road had a pawnbroker’s shop near its west end and to pop was a well-known phrase at the time for pawning something. So the second verse says that visiting the Eagle causes one’s money to vanish, necessitating a trip up the City Road to Uncle to raise some cash. But what was the weasel that was being pawned? Nobody is sure. Some suggest it was a domestic or tailor’s flat-iron, a small item easy to carry. My own guess is that it’s rhyming slang: weasel and stoat = coat. Either way, it seems to have been a punning reinterpretation of the catch line from the older dance.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Pop goes the weasel
Commemorated ati
Eagle Tavern - song
Up and down the City Road In and out the Eagle That's the way the money goe...
Other Subjects
Frankie Paul
Paul Blake, better known as Frankie Paul, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'. Born and died Jamaica. Guardian obituary.
William Rodney Graham
A Canadian artist and musician who was known professionally as Rodney Graham. He was born on 16 January 1949 in British Columbia, Canada and was educated at the University of British Columbia, Van...
Sir Mick Jagger
Musician and occasional actor. Born Michael Philip Jagger in Dartford. Lead singer in the Rolling Stones.
John Compton
Organ builder. Born in Newton Burgoland, Leicestershire. He set up business in Nottingham and moved to London, eventually establishing a factory in North Acton. Many Compton organs were installed i...
Benvenuto Cellini
Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier, musician, and artist who also wrote a famous autobiography and poetry.
Person, Art, Craft / Design, Literature, Music / songs, Poetry, Sculpture, Italy

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them