The musings of a Hamptons-based shutterbug in her pursuit of life's joys - photography, food, and travel.
In my car, I treat myself to SiriusXM Radio and one of my favorite channels is 40s Junction. It just makes me smile. I know the 40s was war-time and Many, many songs spoke about our soldiers abroad and their sweethearts at home. Entertainers knew they had to reflect the times, at the same time being uplifting and positive.
The Andrews Sisters sang "Three Little Sisters" "each one only in her teens", about their respective beaus:
One loved a soldier
One loved a sailor
And one loved a lad from the marines
... and how they would stay true until
The boys marched back one day
A similar theme was covered in "Don't Sit Under the Apple tree" that concludes:
I know the apple tree is reserved for you and me
And I'll be true till you come marching' home!"
All positive, uplifting and entertaining, which brings me to the point of this post.
Some songs from the 40s make me scratch my head and ask, "Who would ever think of such a thing?" The first one that truly registered with me was "Mr. Five by Five" about a guy -
He's five feet tall and he's five feet wide
He don't measure no more from head to toe
Than he does
From side to side.
He's "Got fifty chins" and
The only trouble is there's no way of knowin'
Whether he's comin' or ... or goin'
If anyone wrote this today, they'd be drummed out of the business or strung up by their thumbs for political incorrectness.
And who, in their right mind, thought of writing a song about a "Cement Mixer" let alone these lyrics:
First you get some gravel, Pour it in the vout
To mix a mess o' mortar you add cement and water
See the mellow roony come out, slurp, slurp, slurp
And someone had ... ...nerve enough to record and air it! Now that's bravery in my book. They must have become hard-pressed for new and entertaining song ideas as the war went on.
But one song that I have come to appreciate is a little silly song that very cleverly makes the point that school is important and should be embraced or else ... "you may grow up to be a mule".
Bing Crosby sang "Swinging on a Star". Get a load of these lyrics:
Would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a mule
A mule is an animal with long funny ears
Kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule
Or would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a pig
A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don't care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig
Or would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a fish
A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish
A new kind of jumped up slippery fish
And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
So you see it's all up to you
You can be better than you are
You could be swinging' on a star
Oh those were the days! Hope this made you smile, giggle, nod or even shake your head. Click on the links to each song. Sorry about the intro-ads, there's just no way around them these days. These songs, in my book, are nothing, if not, entertaining.
Happy Sunday.
