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Home , Al Dubin, Gold Diggers of 1933, Leo Reisman

Songs of the Great Depression

Originally entitled Yankee Doodle, this is one of several versions of a scene painted by Archibald MacNeal Willard in the late nineteenth century that came to be known as The Spirit of '76. Often imitated or parodied, it is one of the most famous images relating to the American Revolutionary War. The life-sized original hangs in Abbot Hall in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The flag in the painting, often assumed to be the Betsy Ross flag, is actually the Cowpens flag, flown during a major turning point in the war, the Battle of Cowpens. BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME? E. Y. ‘Yip’ Harburg & Jay Gorney Introduced in 1932 by Rex Weber in the musical Americana

VERSE They used to tell me I was building a dream, And so I followed the mob. When there was earth to plow, Or guns to bear, I was always there Right on the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream, With peace and glory ahead, Why should I be standing in line, Just waiting for bread?

REFRAIN Once I built a railroad, Made it run, Made it race against time. Once I built a railroad, Now it's done, Brother, can you spare a dime? Once I built a tower, To the sun, Brick and rivet and lime; Once I built a tower, Now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime? Once in khaki suits, Gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodle-de-dum, Half a million boots went sloggin’ through hell, I was the kid with the drum. Say, don't you remember? They called me “Al,” It was “Al” all the time. Say, don't you remember I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”, also sung as “Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?”, is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. Written in 1930 by lyricist E. Y. “Yip” Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” was part of the 1932 musical Americana; the melody is based on a Russian-Jewish lullaby Gorney's mother had sung to him as a child. It was considered by Republicans to be anti-capitalist propaganda, and almost dropped from the show; attempts were made to ban it from the radio. The song became best known, however, through recordings by Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee. Both versions were released right before Franklin Delano Roosevelt's election to the presidency and both became number one hits on the charts. The Brunswick Crosby recording became the best-selling record of its period, and came to be viewed as an anthem of the shattered dreams of the era. In the song a beggar talks back to the system that stole his job. Gorney said in an interview in 1974 “I didn't want a song to depress people. I wanted to write a song to make people think. It isn’t a hand-me-out song of ‘give me a dime, I’m starving, I’m bitter’, it wasn't that kind of sentimentality”. The song asks why the men who built the nation – built the railroads, built the skyscrapers – who fought in the war (World War I), who tilled the earth, who did what their nation asked of them should, now that the work is done and their labor no longer necessary, find themselves abandoned and in bread lines. It refers to “Yankee Doodle-de-dum”, a reference to patriotism, and the evocation of veterans also recalls protests about military bonuses payable only after 21 years, which were a topical issue. The song has unusual structure for a Broadway song. Firstly, rather than starting in a major key, as most Broadway songs do, it begins in a minor key, which is darker and more appropriate for the Depression. When discussing the prosperous past and building the railroads, the song jumps an octave and moves briefly into a major key, evoking energy and optimism. It then reverts to the augmented dominant of the minor key in the word “time” in the line “Once I built a railroad, made it run / Made it race against time,” marking the end of prosperous times, and changing to a wistful mood. The song then ends, not on a note of resignation, but with anger – repeating the beginning (as is usual for Broadway songs), an octave higher, but with a significant change: the friendly “Brother, can you spare a dime?” is replaced with the aggressive “Buddy, can you spare a dime?” . . During the malaise of the 1970s stagflation, the Times asked Harburg to update "Brother" for a new age, and he responded with:

Once we had a Roosevelt Praise the Lord! Life had meaning and hope. Now we’re stuck with Nixon, Agnew, Ford, Brother, can you spare a rope? From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_Can_You_Spare_a_Dime%3F

* * * From Philip Furia, The Poets of . A History of America’s Great Lyricists (Oxford, New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1992) pp. 204-205:

In “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?,” Harburg, deeply political himself, took Roosevelt’s campaign image of the “Forgotten Man” and created a dramatic monologue rooted in character:

The fellow in the breadline, just back from the wars . . . a bewildered hero with a medal on his chest ignominiously dumped into a breadline. I wanted a song that would express his indignation over having worked hard in the system only to be discarded when the system had no use for him. . . . Thus: “Once I built a railroad, made it run, made it race against time. . .” He’s still feeling his strength, and bringing that strength into the song. But suddenly he looks at himself and stops short, puzzled: “How the hell did I get into this position, where I find myself saying, ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’”1

The monologue is framed by the catch-phrase title, transformed from a panhandler’s pathetic plea to a veiled threat. The bitterness is quietly planted at the opening of the chorus, as the singer recalls how “they used to tell me I was building a dream” and reminisces romantically about going off to war: the “Forgotten Man” and created a dramatic monologue rooted in character:

Once in khaki suits, Gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodle-de-dum

But the reminiscence quickly sours, as the “half a million boots” that jauntily march “Over There” go “sloggin’ thru Hell.” That image carries a further implication - that the same soldiers might now band together in a revolutionary protest, an implication that hangs fire between the powerful, active verbs that recount the past - “built a tower,” “made it run,” “went slogging through hell,” and the participles “standing” and “waiting” that uneasily mark time for the present. The suggestion of revolution grows stronger with the reference to “Yankee Doodle-de-dum” and the allusion to the “Spirit of ’76” - “I was the kid with the drum.” Such touches give the singer a mythic power as he dramatically steps closer to his “Brother”:

Say don't you remember? they called me Al it was Al all the time. Say, don't you remember I'm your pal!

The rhymes and near-rhymes - Al/all/pal - give this intimate identification an aggressive edge, capped in the last line when “brother” is suddenly replaced by the military - and militant - “Buddy, can you spare a dime?”

1 E. Y. Harburg, “From Lower East Side to ‘’” Creators and Disturbers, eds. Bernard Rosenberg and Ernest Goldstein (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1982) p. 146. Despite the political emphasis, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” has some of the lineaments of of a standard [Tin Pan] Alley love song. The plight of the ex-soldier, for example, parallels countless romantic laments where a jilted lover bemoans the girl that did him wrong. Harburg himself noted that what he wanted to avoid in this lyric was “sentimental, tear-jerking . . . maudlinity” - precisely what [great lyricists Lorenz] Hart and [Ira] Gershwin strove to avoid in their love songs. What Harburg used to avoid those pitfalls, however, was not flippant rhymes and witty word-play but a realistic portrayal of character and dramatic situation.

* * *

Recordings from 1932 Vallee, Crosby and Jolson were three of the most famous - and greatest - entertainers of the time.

Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankeess - Columbia 1932 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pjuqV9UEx0 SpareDimeVallee.jpg - Record label. Fox Trot Vocal Refrain. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (from “Americana”) (Gorney and Harburg) Rudy Valle and His Connecticut Yankeess. Columbia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb_Wqyx-EBA Bing Crosby with Lennie Hayton and his Orchestra - Brunswick 1932 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU bing-crosby-brother-can-you-spare-a-dime-columbia-78.jpg - Record label. “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (Harburg & Gorney) Sung by Bing Crosby With Orchestra. Columbia. http://flashlarevista.com/content/can-you-spare-a.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo

Charlie Palloy & His Orchestra, vocal by Charlie Palloy - Crown 1932 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsJGagKWrds Ian Whitcomb (a well known performer and music historian) writes: “Charlie Palloy is a real obscurity. Obviously he modeled his style on Russ Columbo, but all we know is that he played guitar, led a band for a while, and recorded for the short-lived Crown label. His careful pronunciation of an “s” borders on the sibilant.”

Subsequent recordings include: - Peter, Paul & Mary - LP See What Tomorrow Brings 1965 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCnjUS4UZNI - Spanky & Our Gang (LP Spanky and Our Gang) 1967 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYwfTQPWQ1Y - Tom Jones - (LP I Who Have Nothing) 1970 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBavN5bF_fI - Judy Collins (LP Judith) 1975 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCtIEeO-NrY - Abbey Lincoln with Stan Getz (tenor sax), Hank Jones (piano), Charlie Haden (bass), Mark Johnson (drums), Maxine Roach (violin) - CD You Gotta Pay the Band 1991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--VoDLuUh18 LIVE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKr69aqmQ6g - Tom Waits (CD Tales From The Underground 4) 1999 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZlFACk17R0 - The Masters Of Harmony 1996 LIVE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Hxft8_DpE - George Michael - (CD Songs from the Last Century) 1999 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keuyx-ROUA0 LIVE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_cZjgThPks

LET’S HAVE ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE Introduced in 1932 by J. Harold Murray and Katherine Carrington in the musical Face the Music

“Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee” is a song by Irving Berlin appearing in the musical comedy Face the Music, which opened in 1932. The song, set in a self-service restaurant modeled on the Horn & Hardart Automat, is sung in the play by a group of once-wealthy citizens who were awaiting better times, as mirrored in the song's opening lyrics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Have_Another_Cup_of_Coffee

VERSE Why worry when skies are gray? Why should we complain? Let’s laugh at the cloudy day, Let’s sing in the rain. Songwriters say the storm quickly passes, That’s their philosophy, They see the world through rose-colored glasses, Why shouldn’t we?

REFRAIN Just around the corner, There's a rainbow in the sky, So let's have another cup o’ coffee And let's have another piece o’ pie! Trouble's just a bubble, And the clouds will soon roll by, So let's have another cup o’ coffee, And let's have another piece o’ pie! Let a smile be your umbrella, For it's just an April show’r. Even John D. Rockefeller Is looking for the silver lining! Mr. Herbert Hoover Says that now's the time to buy, So let's have another cup o’ coffee, And let's have another piece o’ pie!

The hit version was released in 1932 on the RCA Victor label (Victor 22936) by Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians with vocals by Chick Bullock with the Three Waring Girls. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Have_Another_Cup_of_Coffee).

Recordings from 1932

- Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians, vocals by Chick Bullock with the Three Waring Girls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsAn4D2TW2g

- Phil Spitalny's Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syvLVpPTYEc

THE GOLD DIGGERS’ SONG (WE’RE IN THE MONEY) and Introduced by in the Warner Brothers film

Gold Diggers of 1933 is a pre-code Warner Bros. directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics), staged and choreographed by . It stars , , and Ginger Rogers and features , , and Aline MacMahon. The story is based on the play The Gold Diggers by , which ran for 282 performances on Broadway in 1919 and 1920.

VERSE Gone are my blues and gone are my tears. I’ve got good news to shout in your ears: The long-lost dollar has come back to the fold. With silver you can turn your dreams to gold. Oh…

REFRAIN We're in the money, we're in the money; We've got a lot of what it takes to get along! We're in the money, the sky is sunny, Old Man Depression you are through, You’ve done us wrong. We never see a headline about a breadline today. And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye We're in the money, come on, my honey, Let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling around!

VIDEO - Opening of Gold Diggers of 1933 with “The Gold Diggers’ Song” staged by Busby Berkeley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r3KdTL6mjk

Recordings from 1933 - Leo Reisman and His Orchestra, vocal by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObWpYJzyrPY Leo (F.) Reisman (October 11, 1897 - December 18, 1961) was a violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s. Born and reared in , Reisman studied violin as a young man, and formed his own band in 1919. He became famous for having over 80 hits on the popular charts during his career. called Reisman's orchestra "The String Quartet of Dance Bands". - The Boswell Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGahgba4stU The Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 -- July 2, 1958), Connee Boswell (original name Connie) (December 3, 1907 -- October 11, 1976), and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell (May 20, 1911 -- November 12, 1988), noted for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation. They attained national prominence in the USA in the 1930s.

- Gene Kardos (as Harry Wilson) and His Orchestra, vocal by Dick Robertson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTJZPNbwOjc Original 78rpm courtesy of the Rick Colom Collection, digital restoration by Bob Moke. On this May ’33 record date, the Kardos band cut two very similar tracks of both this tune and the also-posted flip side “Pettin’ In The Park,” two Dubin & Warren songs from Gold Diggers of 1933. This 78 with the Dick Robertson vocals was the export version, issued on the Edison Bell Winner and Panachord labels. The same arrangements but with Chick Bullock singing were released in the U.S. on multiple labels under various pseudonyms. The “Art Kahn” release of that Bullock take can also be found here on the MusicProf78 channel. 78rpm: (UK) Edison Bell Winner W-67 - The Gold Diggers’ Song (Dubin- Warren) bt Harry Wilson & his Orchestra (Gene Kardos), vocal by Dick Robertson, recorded in NYC May 4, 1933

- Jack Hylton & His Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9dP4pL1rW8 The record featured in this video is by legendary English bandleader Jack Hylton.

REMEMBER MY FORGOTTEN MAN Harry Warren and Al Dubin Introduced by Joan Blondell and Etta Moten s in the Warner Brothers film Gold Diggers of 1933, “Remember My Forgotten Man” is sung by Joan Blondell and Etta Moten and features sets influenced by German Expressionism and a gritty evocation of Depression-era poverty. Berkeley was inspired by the May 1932 war veterans’ march on Washington, D.C. When the number was finished, Jack L. Warner and Darryl F. Zanuck (the studio production head) were so impressed that they ordered it moved to the end of the film, displacing “Pettin' in the Park”.

VERSE I don’t know if he deserves a bit of sympathy, Forget your sympathy, that’s all right with me. I was satisfied to drift along from day to day, Till they came and took my man away.

REFRAIN Remember my forgotten man, You put a rifle in his hand; You sent him far away, You shouted, “Hip, hooray!” But look at him today! Remember my forgotten man, You had him cultivate the land; He walked behind the plow, The sweat fell from his brow, But look at him right now! And once, he used to love me, I was happy then; He used to take care of me, Won't you bring him back again? 'Cause ever since the world began, A woman's got to have a man; Forgetting him, you see, Means you're forgetting me Like my forgotten man.

VIDEO - Closing scene of Gold Diggers of 1933 with “Remember My Forgotten Man” staged by Busby Berkeley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzMy7-7WV44

Recordings from 1933

- Hal Kemp & his Orchestra, vocal by Deane Janis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrzX_3LJ0rE This "socially significant" Dubin & Warren song provided a striking and unusual (for its time) finale to "Gold Diggers Of 1933," which ranks up among the most entertaining film musicals ever produced by the Warner Brothers. Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley created the on-screen magic, Joan Blondell, Warren William, Dick Powell & Ruby Keeler starred, and Harry Warren & Al Dubin contributed the additional song hits "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're In The Money," "Shadow Waltz," "Pettin' In The Park," and "I've Got To Sing A Torch Song." CD audio, originally issued on 78rpm: Brunswick 6583 - Remember My Forgotten Man (Dubin-Warren) by Hal Kemp & his Orchestra, vocal by Deane Janis, recorded May 4, 1933 (actual 78 label scan not available)

- George Hall and the Hotel Taft Orchestra, vocal by Loretta Lee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c-bshfPZ6A Original 78 issue on Bluebird B-5113 - Remember My Forgotten Man (Dubin-Warren) by George Hall and the Hotel Taft Orchestra, vocal by Loretta Lee, recorded in NYC July 8, 1933

- Bunny Brigan (as Ed Lloyd) and His Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4vErPoIzJE Personnel: Bunny Brigan and Manny Weinstock-trumpet / Elmer Rehmus-trombone / Elmer Feldkamp, Joe Poretta and Freddy Martin-reeds / A Wagner, Benny Eaton and Ross Dickson-violin / Terry Shand-piano / George Van Eps- guitar / George Green-string bass / Eddie Schaff-drums / Helen Rowland-vocal. Rex 8005-B - Recorded in New York on May 11th 1933.

From Timothy Scheurer, Born in the U. S. A.: The Myths of America in Popular Music from Colonial Times to the Present (Studies in Popular Culture), (Jackson, Mississippi 1991) pp. 118-119:

Among the songs that deal seriously with the Depression and that have some relevance to the myth of America are “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932) by E. Y. Harburg and Jay Gorney and “Remember My Forgotten Man” (1933) by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. The songs share some interesting similarities. First, both songs depict the disenfranchised individual. Both feature structures that contrast a driving, martial rhythm and melody in one section with a more lyrical section. Both are written in a minor key, which adds an element of poignancy. Both songs also allude to two mythemes: the land and opportunity. And, finally both songs enunciate a theme that will be in the Depression and that we will see in the folksong movement during the same period: that of the soldier who has served his country in the preservation of freedom and opportunity but who is now excluded from that same opportunity...... in “Remember My Forgotten Man,” delivered by Joan Blondell in her own inimitable popular Sprechstimme style, the narrator seems to be addressing government as she reminds them that her man cultivated the land and carried a “rifle in his hand.” The songwriters paint a picture of a man who has contributed to the plenty of the land, fought to defend that land and all it stands for, and is now disenfranchised from it. The narrator also reminds the powers-that-be that, if they forget him, they are forgetting her, because a woman cannot live without a man. There is no cryptic socialist message here, but the audience could walk away from this song with a feeling of solidarity; each of them, like this woman, shared in the tragedy of the forgotten man. The tone of the song, like that of “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?” is somber and suggests an attitude of despair and disillusionment. The context of its performance is important to this song. The message one would derive from it if it were played at home or heard in a club would be somewhat different from what audiences experienced watching the film Gold Diggers of 1933. In that film, the song is the finale, a huge Busby Berkeley production number, which begins by vividly parading hundreds of “forgotten men” across the stage but ends up on an “up” note as, in typical Berkeley style, the chorus forms the NRA eagle for a classic center weighted shot. The structure of the scene then takes one from despair to hope -- an entirely different feeling from what one would have if the tune were heard in isolation. Both songs leave enough room for people to identify with the narrator. Both songs bring into the treatment of the myth a new dimension, the role of the individual. The idea of God is almost totally absent from all the songs (including those of the folk-protest tradition) in the 1930s, and the sense of community is only marginally suggested in the music of Tin Pan Alley. The individual, however, is given new stature as the personal supplants the communal.

IMAGES

668px-Sprit_of_'76.2.jpeg - Yankee Doodle, Archibald MacNeal Willard. Oil. 1875. TEXT & IMAGE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_%2776_(sentiment) dime.jpg - “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (E. Y. “Yip” Harburg & Jay Gorney) from Americana, 1931. Cover for the sheet music. https://thegreenwichvillageliteraryreview.wordpress.com/category/the-greenwich-village-literary-review-spring-2015-vol-ii-no-i/ 1931-01-30-a.gif - 'Scuse me, Buddy, is this the bread-line or a run on a bank?' Cartoon by Chester Garde from Life, January 30, 1931. Bank failures brought the Great Depression home to many middle-class Americans, for in the days before deposit insurance the collapse of the local bank could easily wipe out a family’s life savings. Oddly Life ran very few cartoons about the banks. This one, by Chester Garde, appeared on January 30, 1931. http://www.archelaus-cards.com/retail/archives/20090201a.php 1931-04-10-a.gif - 'Whom do you think you're calling 'buddy'?' Cartoon by William Steig from Life, April 10, 1931. The spectacle of the formerly rich and powerful thrust into new circumstances was usually good for a laugh, as in this cartoon from April 10, 1931, by William Steig (author of the children’s book Shrek! [1990]).http://www.archelaus- cards.com/retail/archives/20090124.php automat 1930s.jpg - Horn & Hardart Automat - Fifty-seventh Street and Sixth Avenue, New York. Picture postcard. Ca. 1930s. Horn & Hardart. Lumitone Photography. Public Domain. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/automat-20th-century-waiterless-restaurants 463361435_93ecfa6b01_o.jpg DETAIL - The Automat - As famous as the New York Skyline itself. Photo postcard from Horn & Hardart, New York, picturing its Times Square automat restaurant. Ca. 1939. Horn & Hardart Automats were cafeterias and very popular during the depression. Horn & Hardart Automats prepared food and were put behind a sliding glass window. When you made your selection you would drop in a coin to have the window open to take what you wanted. Each glass door had all kinds of selections from a full meal to sandwiches, coffee, soft drinks, desserts etc. At one time Horn & Hardart Automats had 156 cafeterias in New York and Phiadelphia serving over a half a million customers a day. Horn & Hardart Automats can be seen in many old movie clips. Here is a clip from a movie with Doris Day, Cary Grant & Audrey Meadows at a Horn & Hardart Automat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTqjO-dHTmE Another video of the explanation and photos of the Automat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrbyqUOObdU https://www.flickr.com/photos/bettyblade/463361435 DETAIL - TEXT https://www.flickr.com/photos/chiski/30524090362/sizes/l Gold+Diggers+Of+1933.jpg - Title. Gold Diggers of 1933. http://annyas.com/screenshots/updates/gold-diggers-of-1933-typography/ Poster - Gold Diggers of 1933_01.jpg - Poster for Gold Diggers of 1933. http://www.doctormacro.com/movie%20summaries/G/Gold%20Diggers%20of%201933.htm ForgottenMan1933.jpg - Record label. Original 78 issue on Bluebird B-5113 - “Remember My Forgotten Man” by George Hall and the Hotel Taft Orchestra, vocal by Loretta Lee, recorded in NYC July 8, 1933. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c-bshfPZ6A 4643045900_117fdd0b04.jpg & 4643046146_5bda4c79db.jpg - Joan Blondell in “Remember My Forgotten Man”. Gold Diggers of 1933. - Soldiers “slogging through hell” in “Remember My Forgotten Man”. Gold Diggers of 1933. https://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenagecostume/4643045900/in/photostream/ & .../4643046146/in/photostream/ in the money number.jpg - HERE ABOVE “The Gold Diggers Song (We’re in the Money).” Still photo from Gold Diggers of 1933. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAtmoBu-jfA 0_e2e53_b3259bd5_orig.jpg th - HERE BELOW The Spirit of ’76 on a 4 -of-July radio program. Cover of The New Yorker, July 4, 1936. Peter Arno. http://katia-lexx.livejournal.com/tag/%D0%B6%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%20%C2%ABThe%20New%20Yorker%C2%BB