1931-1940: Oh Johnny! Oh Johnny! Oh!

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=qfY7L__-kIQ “Oh Johnny! Oh Johnny! Oh!” is a song that was originally a patriotic themed composition by Abe Olman. Later, Ed Rose wrote lyrics to the song and had it published by Forster Music Publisher, Inc. Apparently, Ed Rose wrote the lyrics about a couple he’d known and been friends with in college. He also gave the original work to Mr. and Mrs. John Hansen. The lyrics don’t express anything particularly articulate about the time period itself. But the music style in the song was quite popular in the 40’s. The lyrics depict a rather thoughtless woman falling for a man that doesn’t have any distinguishing qualities. However, songwriting has moved forward a little bit in that the lyrics are less outwardly objectifying. This is the first song I’ve found so far during the 1900’s that is purely about infatuation without questionable things also being added in. This song cannot tell us about the Great Depression or the Second World War. Two major events were happening around this time period and this song doesn’t give much information on the subjects.

1921-1930: My Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKivfzjQxOQ Fanny Brice has been such an icon since she made her debut. Her song “My Man” was one of the top songs from 1921. This tune came from the Ziegfeld Follies (a set of elaborate theatre productions performed on Broadway) which happened in 1921. However the song was also in her movie My Man which came out in 1928.This song is absolutely built on ideas from the past. The amount of sexism and objectifying of women makes me want to smash my head into a wall. In just one verse she says that “her man” has at least two or three other ladies that he’s seeing. Her only response is “But I love him! I don’t know why.” I found this appalling enough without adding in another line from the same verse. “He beats me too. What can I do? Oh my man I love him so.” She sounds so weak; unable to stand up for herself or leave him. This expresses the time period by expressing the oppression of women. Fanny Brice writes about this man who abuses her and cheats on her and all she does is “love” him blindly. However, also happening at this same time period is a huge rise in the women’s rights movement. Strong, independent women are not represented very well in this song.

1911-1920: Some of These Days

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3heCSPJrO70&feature=kp Some of These Days is a song that was first recorded in 1911, though it was published in 1910. The song was written and composed by Shelton Brooks. The song is most known for being sung by Sophie Tucker. She was about to perform, when she was approached by her maid, Mollie, asking if she would listen to a song someone she knew had written. Sophie agreed to listen to it and ended up identifying with the song so much she said, “I could have kicked myself for almost losing it. A song like that; it had everything.” The songs premise is clearly about missing someone you love and wanting them back. She outwardly says “You’ll feel lonely” and “I’ll feel lonely” several times in the song when talking about when the other person is away. There isn’t much hidden meaning in the lyrics. The actual song doesn’t express the times, but the story of how it got to be #1 on the Billboard Charts expresses the time period. Being a singer was nothing like it is today. Back then, people hoped and hoped that she would take their songs and make them famous. Today, things are so much more different. Everyone’s so protective of their work. Suing and legal issues prevent people from just accepting other people’s work and agreeing to produce it on the fly. This song, standing alone doesn’t say much at all about what was going on in the world. It doesn’t say anything about culture, fashion, rights, technology, etc. It’s a very simple song.

1900-1910: America the Beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBJZ_X8iOFE There are no high quality versions of the song from its original time period, but this is a version that Frank Sinatra sang. America the Beautiful is an American patriotic song. It originated as a poem titled “America” written by Katharine Lee Bates. The music for the song had originally been written for the hymn O Mother dear, Jerusalem in 1882 by Samuel A. Ward. Ward’s music and Bates’ poem were first combined and published in 1904, one year after Ward passed away. Bates’ poem highlights many things about nature. Bates also mentions the brotherhood between all the American people. The song was written at a time before World War I and the Great Depression, so there weren’t many financial struggles that America was going through. It was also written just after the Civil War. America was at a peaceful time in history. It is said that while Katherine Lee Bates was on a train, the words for the poem just came to her and she wrote them down as soon as she got to her hotel. The first bit of the song talks about “the amber waves of grain” referencing the United States’ plentiful food and good harvesting. In the next verse Bates included “O beautiful for pilgrim feet,” welcoming new people to the land as America was still having more people come all the time. She continues to praise America by saying “O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years” saying that we would have patriotic spirit for many, many years. This song definitely expresses the things that were going well for America and its citizens. With all of its lyrics about nature, it’s clear that the Industrial Revolution hadn’t happened yet. America was still a quaint-living country with a huge emphasis on farming and agriculture. What can this item not tell us about the time period? This song doesn’t tell us anything about the negative things that were happening. It doesn’t talk about the aftermath of the Civil War or racism. Those topics were left alone to focus on the great things that were happening.