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Irving Berlin was an immigrant which is fine in this country where very few can claim with Will Rogers that “my ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but they greeted the boat from the shore.”
Irving Berlin became so established in American music that Jerome Kern stated, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music - he is American music.”
Another category of events in need of a signature tune? How about the televangelist programs with bombastic preachers and faith (or is it ‘fake’ ) healing? On TV, you recognize them for never leaving out the phone/pledge number at the corner of the screen.
Another Berlin song? Of course. Straight from ‘Annie get your gun’. Which one? ‘There’s no business like show business’ is right on!
On to a new category without a viable theme song: Have you ever watched the State Of The Union address on TV? Sooner or later, they will get around to playing ‘Hail To The Chief’, but that doesn’t help the hordes of Administration people and Congress people who mosey around, basking in the glory of being there, waiting for the real festivities to start.
So, can we do something musical and congenial for those folks?
Another Irving Berlin? Noo, I think I have fond the appropriate title for those waiting people. There is a beautiful piece by Stephen Sondheim which seems to be the perfect match. The title of the song? “Send in the clowns”
Popular songs often contain lines full of wisdom. Here is an example. Songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen was asked in 1944 to write a song for Bing Crosby (which was to become an Academy Award winner), Swinging On A Star.
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
So much for the mule. A mild mannered person like myself could take the two middle lines:
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
and make them describe any bully from warmongers to rednecks....
By the way, that song also contains the following:
And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
Good stuff from half a century ago!
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