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You're no doubt referring to a version of the Schnitzelbank song. I don't know where gigger gagger is from and I'm not convinced it refers to a rooster. Given the context, it may have something to do with time or waking up.
I grew up in Bavaria and Berlin and Germans do not in the normal run of thing refer to animals with such names. If there's any literal connection to a rooster, I'd guess it's some regional take on cock-a-doodle-doo.
I grew up in Bavaria and Berlin and Germans do not in the normal run of thing refer to animals with such names. If there's any literal connection to a rooster, I'd guess it's some regional take on cock-a-doodle-doo.
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More information to consider. Great!
I'm German, so I can tell you that there's no such thing as a "gigger-gagger" as far as I can tell (I'm from the north west of Germany, so it may be possible the word is more common in the south/Bayern at the Oktoberfest or something like that). I searched the web for it and also asked my family, they've never heard about it. Telling from the sound, I would also suggest that it could be something like a "wake-up" signal - like the word we use for mocking a rooster's sound in the morning: "kikeriki" ("ki" is spoken like the word "key", so it's 'key-ke-re-keeeey').
I think the word "gigger-gagger" could also describe the fact that the person is quite known for being strict and to make people be silent in his 'hotel', so he's always shouting and blustering without his guests really listening. So because he's always complaining or something, his words become a "gigger-gagger" - a never ending complaint noone really takes serious, like a "bla bla bla". In this case, the word is also a sound or signal, but not to wake someone up but to make someone shut up or behave.
Maybe this is helpful, too:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34802
I think the word "gigger-gagger" could also describe the fact that the person is quite known for being strict and to make people be silent in his 'hotel', so he's always shouting and blustering without his guests really listening. So because he's always complaining or something, his words become a "gigger-gagger" - a never ending complaint noone really takes serious, like a "bla bla bla". In this case, the word is also a sound or signal, but not to wake someone up but to make someone shut up or behave.
Maybe this is helpful, too:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34802
Thanks for the suggestions. I have been researching the Schnitzelbank for several years and from time to time think of a new angle to investigate. I was hoping for a clue from gigger gagger because it is obscure; but, it may be too obscure. The version of the song with the gigger gagger (the one in the thread is a partial copy) was first published in 1907. One of the other clues in it is that it goes "Ei du schoene schnizelbank" instead of the more common "Oh du schoene schnitzelbank".
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The version above, with its plethora of Freudian images, suggests a
slightly different picture. The song is being sung by boys in a youth
hostel, after lights out. The items are accompanied by appropriate
_gestures_ (some of them take a little more imagination than others).
The final insult is directed at the Herbergsvater, who has arrived
with his helles Licht to tell them to shut up & go to sleep.
I'm pretty sure this is the single most informative source on the Internet in any language. If you want to get a definitive answer on gigger gagger, it looks like you have two choices. You can ask someone who actively studies these things (William Keel of Kentucky University would be my pick, but I have no idea if he'd be keen on helping you with trivia) or you can ask native Germans (a folk music user group?).