Vance's popular song "Walking in the Zoo" has been cited by Desmond Morris (in Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution) as the earliest known use of the term "O.K." in its current sense. It is also one of the first uses of the term 'zoo' in place of the full name of 'zoological garden'. (It was previously used in America as a political slogan for Martin Van Buren, nicknamed Old Kinderhook or O.K.) The chorus of Vance's song begins with the line "Walking in the zoo is the O.K. thing to do." The song refers specifically to the Zoological Gardens at Regents Park, London.I have read someplace that there was also a song written about visiting the Hagenbeck Zoo. Does anyone know what the name of it was, and what year it was written?
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