"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," performed by Bing Crosby, music by Jay Gorney, lyrics by Yip Harburg (1932)
I can hardly talk about the 1930s without featuring a song by the inimitable Bing Crosby, who actually went solo in 1931. It’s likely that everyone who reads this has heard at least one song by Crosby, most likely the Christmas hit, “White Christmas,” which is still the best selling single of all time. I don’t want to spend loads of time talking about Crosby, but if you want to know more about him, the Wikipedia link below has tons of info. I also included a link to his biography.com entry, in case you’r not a fan of Wikipedia.
Today, the song is just as interesting as the singer and may ring true for people today as it did when it was written during the Great Depression. It was written for the musical, Americana, which actually did not do very well, but this song became a hit. It differed from the norm of popular songs at the time, in that it features a minor key and directly confronts the feelings many Americans had during the Depression. Many (or most) popular songs at the time were upbeat and focused on being happy, while this song unabashedly discussed the frustrations of seeing the American Dream that so many had believed in come crashing down around them with the stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing long-lasting financial depression. Honestly, I feel like I know people who would relate with these same sentiments in today’s economy.
So this week, take a few minutes to listen to a great song, with an unfortunately enduring sentiment, sung by a great singer.
Lyrics
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 slogging 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!
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 slogging 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!
Brother can you spare a dime?
Buddy can you spare a dime?
The song:
Resources
About Bing Crosby: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Crosby
About the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_Can_You_Spare_a_Dime%3F
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