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 run
Made it race against time
Once I built a rairoad, 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?

Here's Peter, Paul & Mary's version of the song.

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