SPIN-A-Tune or A Tug-Of-War
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:21 am
My internet browsing found this interesting essay Music as War Propaganda - Did Music Help Win The First World War? by K. A. Wells.
http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2004- ... eature.php
Within the essay, the author notes in 1915 with the war raging in Europe, that one of America's top songs was I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier. It's no surprise once its context is known. The U.S. was neutral in 1915 and did not enter the war until 1917. Now, spin a tune for 1917 and I Did Not Raise My Boy To Be A Coward was born.
I enjoy knowing some of the historic context surrounding the records in my collection. Mostly it's nothing grand, but I find it interesting to look into. Take vaudeville, I never did care for the many stereotypes presented in those recordings. I understand the ease in its leap from the stage to the recording industry. They had an existing customer base with a need for entertainment. My personal taste has led me to filter those sketches from my collection. That threshold is not absolute, there are still recordings in my collection that use an unenlightened phrase or description within. One such record is Good-Bye Alexander.
I did not filter this one from my collection because of the strangely complementary description of African Americans. I say strangely due to its 1918 context. The song is an open letter filled with a mother's pride as her boy goes to war. Out of our country's need, this may be the earliest recording to portray African American men in a positive manner. Even the imagery on the sheet music portrays realistically illustrated men. Spinning this tune for enlistment, the green highlighted text is an amazing reversal in racial characterization. However, the blue text reinforces better known characterizations, of what you aint far from, as portrayed in vaudeville. Are the Irish included (orange text) as a stereotypical fighting bench mark? I think this song is more complex than I can articulate. There are overt white sentiments used as in being Old Aunt Dinah's son (a descendent from slavery) and having positive excitement in hearing Dixie (...old times there are not forgotten...). Emancipation is announced right at the start for its original military service aspect. It's probably as hard a spin that could be used to mechanically stir black patriotism while romancing the old ways. I find all of the above to be an interesting tug-of-war.
I did not find the lyrics on-line, so I've transcribed them from Victor recording 18492-A...
Song:
Alexander Cooper was a colored trooper
with his regiment he marched away.
Bands were gayly playing
colored folks where swaying on Emancipation Day.
From the crowd, Dinah Lee so proud
hollered to her sweetie good and loud.
Good-bye Alexander, Good-bye honey boy
dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy.
You aint far from mopin, boy you sure can laugh
but you left that window open and they got you in the draft.
Alexander, I'll save my loving for you
I'll be waiting like Poor Butterfly
So get busy with that gun and don't come back here 'till you've won
Alexander good-bye.
Monolog:
Lord the parade is stopping, let me reach my man
Alexander honey you all have certainly got some band.
I have been marching along with you ever since you left the town
and I know your dogs are barking from the way your laying down.
But you certainly kept a-struttin, I don't see how you can grin
never mind, you tell your sweet puppies they're gonna walk you right to Berlin.
So go on across the ocean 'cause these white folks know your worth
for there was never born a colored traitor born on this here earth.
And they know you'll die fightin cause your old Aunt Dinah's son
and the world can see you're fast-black and fast-black will not run.
You're from one race of people that will clap and do it right
'Course that don't count the Irish 'cause they don't do nothin' else but fight.
Now Alexander, promise while your across that pond
at night don't care how hot you get, you keep your nighty on.
Lord there goes that bugle!
Son, you hear that band, honey they're playing Dixie!
Get 'em Alexand!
Song:
Good-bye Alexander, Good-bye honey boy
dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy.
You aint far from mopin, boy you sure can laugh
but you left that window open and they got you in the draft.
Alexander, I'll save my loving for you
I'll be waiting like "Poor Butterfly"
So get busy with that gun and don't come back here 'till you've won
Alexander good-bye.
Searching the song title did yield the following link to a real soldier and his experience in this war.
http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/c ... elliot1917
My recording is sung by Marion Harris on Victor 18492-A
http://www.redhotjazz.com/marionharris.html
Marion Harris, celebrated White Blues singer, left a recording company that objected to her making a record of St. Louis Blues. Miss Harris had used our numbers in vaudeville for a long time, and she sang blues so well that people sometimes thought that the singer was colored. - W.C. Handy
For more interesting reading, here is Making Sense of American Popular Song
John Spitzer and Ronald G. Walters (from the Making Sense of Evidence series on History Matters: The U.S. Survey on the Web, located at http://historymatters.gmu.edu)
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cac ... m3KNktn0ow
Thanks,
James
I occasionally reply to threads here and post threads on Antique Talking Machines forum. I thought I'd try this thread here. ATM's response on music threads is nil. I could not preview this, so I hope the colored text shows and the links work.
http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2004- ... eature.php
Within the essay, the author notes in 1915 with the war raging in Europe, that one of America's top songs was I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier. It's no surprise once its context is known. The U.S. was neutral in 1915 and did not enter the war until 1917. Now, spin a tune for 1917 and I Did Not Raise My Boy To Be A Coward was born.
I enjoy knowing some of the historic context surrounding the records in my collection. Mostly it's nothing grand, but I find it interesting to look into. Take vaudeville, I never did care for the many stereotypes presented in those recordings. I understand the ease in its leap from the stage to the recording industry. They had an existing customer base with a need for entertainment. My personal taste has led me to filter those sketches from my collection. That threshold is not absolute, there are still recordings in my collection that use an unenlightened phrase or description within. One such record is Good-Bye Alexander.
I did not filter this one from my collection because of the strangely complementary description of African Americans. I say strangely due to its 1918 context. The song is an open letter filled with a mother's pride as her boy goes to war. Out of our country's need, this may be the earliest recording to portray African American men in a positive manner. Even the imagery on the sheet music portrays realistically illustrated men. Spinning this tune for enlistment, the green highlighted text is an amazing reversal in racial characterization. However, the blue text reinforces better known characterizations, of what you aint far from, as portrayed in vaudeville. Are the Irish included (orange text) as a stereotypical fighting bench mark? I think this song is more complex than I can articulate. There are overt white sentiments used as in being Old Aunt Dinah's son (a descendent from slavery) and having positive excitement in hearing Dixie (...old times there are not forgotten...). Emancipation is announced right at the start for its original military service aspect. It's probably as hard a spin that could be used to mechanically stir black patriotism while romancing the old ways. I find all of the above to be an interesting tug-of-war.
I did not find the lyrics on-line, so I've transcribed them from Victor recording 18492-A...
Song:
Alexander Cooper was a colored trooper
with his regiment he marched away.
Bands were gayly playing
colored folks where swaying on Emancipation Day.
From the crowd, Dinah Lee so proud
hollered to her sweetie good and loud.
Good-bye Alexander, Good-bye honey boy
dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy.
You aint far from mopin, boy you sure can laugh
but you left that window open and they got you in the draft.
Alexander, I'll save my loving for you
I'll be waiting like Poor Butterfly
So get busy with that gun and don't come back here 'till you've won
Alexander good-bye.
Monolog:
Lord the parade is stopping, let me reach my man
Alexander honey you all have certainly got some band.
I have been marching along with you ever since you left the town
and I know your dogs are barking from the way your laying down.
But you certainly kept a-struttin, I don't see how you can grin
never mind, you tell your sweet puppies they're gonna walk you right to Berlin.
So go on across the ocean 'cause these white folks know your worth
for there was never born a colored traitor born on this here earth.
And they know you'll die fightin cause your old Aunt Dinah's son
and the world can see you're fast-black and fast-black will not run.
You're from one race of people that will clap and do it right
'Course that don't count the Irish 'cause they don't do nothin' else but fight.
Now Alexander, promise while your across that pond
at night don't care how hot you get, you keep your nighty on.
Lord there goes that bugle!
Son, you hear that band, honey they're playing Dixie!
Get 'em Alexand!
Song:
Good-bye Alexander, Good-bye honey boy
dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy.
You aint far from mopin, boy you sure can laugh
but you left that window open and they got you in the draft.
Alexander, I'll save my loving for you
I'll be waiting like "Poor Butterfly"
So get busy with that gun and don't come back here 'till you've won
Alexander good-bye.
Searching the song title did yield the following link to a real soldier and his experience in this war.
http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/c ... elliot1917
My recording is sung by Marion Harris on Victor 18492-A
http://www.redhotjazz.com/marionharris.html
Marion Harris, celebrated White Blues singer, left a recording company that objected to her making a record of St. Louis Blues. Miss Harris had used our numbers in vaudeville for a long time, and she sang blues so well that people sometimes thought that the singer was colored. - W.C. Handy
For more interesting reading, here is Making Sense of American Popular Song
John Spitzer and Ronald G. Walters (from the Making Sense of Evidence series on History Matters: The U.S. Survey on the Web, located at http://historymatters.gmu.edu)
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cac ... m3KNktn0ow
Thanks,
James
I occasionally reply to threads here and post threads on Antique Talking Machines forum. I thought I'd try this thread here. ATM's response on music threads is nil. I could not preview this, so I hope the colored text shows and the links work.
