Friday, October 28, 2022

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? A Song About Hard Times

I still like to listen to my old vinyl records and one of the songs that really sticks with me from the Peter, Paul & Mary archive is "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" The Great Depression may have been an exceptionally challenging time for Americans (25% unemployment) but it did generate some heartrending folk songs, which demonstrates how the spirit continuously strives to rise above the mud, mulch and muck, by means of creative expression. Heartbreak unites us because we all share a common humanity.

According to Wikipedia, the lyrics were written by Yip Harburg and the tune by Jay Gorney for the 1932 musical revue Americana.* The melody is actually borrowed from a Russian-Jewish lullaby.

Though most Broadway musicals feature upbeat songs, this one was composed in a minor key. The tone of the lyrics required a similar aural treatment. Over time it has be recorded by a wide swath of performers.

Bing Crosby & Rudy Vallee made it popular in 1932, essentially a song about the impact of the Great Depression upon the common man. Try to imagine what we would be seeing if we had 25% unemployment today. That's what our grandparents (or great grandparents if you're younger) dealt with. I remember my mom telling us how her dad would carry home a 100 lb. bag of navy beans on Saturdays and "that's what we would eat all week."

Others who performed or recorded this song have included Al Jolson, George Michael, Jorma Koukonan, Tom Waits, Judy Collins, Peter Paul & Mary, Dr. John, Abbey Lincoln and dozens more.

The song was quite controversial in its day. There were business leaders who saw the song as "a dangerous attack on the American economic system," so they sought to have it banned from the radio. William Zinsser, who taught writing at Yale, wrote that radio stations banned it for being "sympathetic to the unemployed".  Hmmm.

Here are the lyrics:

Once I built a railroad, made it runMade it race against timeOnce I built a rairoad, now it's doneBrother can you spare a dime?Once I built a tower to the sunBrick and rivet and limeOnce I built a tower, now it's doneBrother can you spare a dime?Once in khaki suitsGee, we looked swellFull of that yankee Doodle De DumHalf a million boots went slogging through hellI was the kid with the drumSay don't you remember, they called me AlIt was Al all the timeSay don't you remember, I'm your pal!Brother can you spare a dime?Once in khaki suitsGee, we looked swellFull of that yankee Doodle De DumHalf a million boots went slogging through hellI was the kid with the drumSay don't you remember, they called me AlIt was Al all the timeSay don't you remember, I'm your pal!Brother can you spare a dime?Buddy can you spare a dime?


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EdNote: Information about this song's history came from a Wikipedia entry about the song.

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