Yeah, Frank, Malvina did indeed use part of the tune of "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" for "Little Boxes." Ever so slightly modified and actually just the first few melodic bars -- not the whole verse tune or the bridge -- but it's undeniably "lifted" from that song.

Speaking of the pawnshop song, I don't know why, but that one always reminds me of the song "Dance Me Loose" -- probably because they were both popular around the same time.

I can't find the lyrics to "Dance Me Loose" or an audio or video file, but it was about a young woman of Scandihoovian descent in Michigan, who was very popular with the young men, partly because they loved her accent and loved to hear her say:

"I varm so eassy, so dance me loose,
Dance me loose, dance me loose ... "

The first line of the verse starts "Saturday night in Sheboygan ... "

Maybe it's not a true "novelty song" either -- any more than "Doggie In The Window" was, but it was one of those "cute" songs that was on the hit parade for a while then basically vanished.