As a vocalist, I have sung many old songs with the term "gay" which does not have the same meaning today. These days, only sing most of these songs in nursing homes & where the audiences are mostly elderly. The new meaning for the term means that I can no longer sing some quite lovely songs amongst most people. As for the state song of Kentucky, and a few other songs which in today's terminology are offensive to myself & others, I only will sing them for the old folks when they ask for them. Sometimes the folks who ask for a specific song may surprise you. Last week, an elderly gentleman who happens to be nowadays considered "Black: (he prefers "colored" but that's a comletely different thread!) asked me to sing "The Darktown Strutters Ball." I obliged as it made him & the others happy.
I can tell you that the older folks have told me "gay" means:
cheerful,
colorful,
delightful,
happy,
fun,
having an aspect which most folks enjoy,
very good,
and more of such. One friend of mine used the term referring to a dress she had back in the 1940's which she really liked.
   I can tell you also, that a gal I knew in college was given the name "Enola Gay" at birth. Gay used to be a common name for a girl. The Enola Gay was the B-29 from which General Tibbets dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. He evidently named the plane after his Mother, my friend said.
   There are many terms which have changed in meaning, however it is interesting to me that the "Jive talk" of the Musicians in the early Jazz/Swing era is sometimes still heard among Musicians of today.
There is certainly a wide variety of terminology in genres of Music. Because of my love for acoustic Music, I also "hang out" (not a wardrobe malfunction) with Bluegrass & Oldtime Musicians--not meaning the Musicians are necessarily old--(let's through in a bit of "Dixieland" and Civil War Music, too).   A "breakdown" is not a mechanical or mental malfunction, but a fast-as-it-can-be-played reel-like instrumental tune often featuring Banjo or Fiddle.
   And speaking of a "Fiddle,"   Q: what's the difference between a fiddle & a violin? A: A Violin is about culture, while a Fiddle is about agriculture. or, a different answer A: attitude
    Ciao!