Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs

Subject: Depression Era Songs
From: rea
Date: 29 Jan 02 - 07:23 PM

[Many song titles in this thread have been converted to links by a Mudelf.]

My mother occasionally sings snatches of tunes that her dad (who worked for the TVA in the 40s and 50s) sang when she was a kid. One of them is "I'm hungry for your love and I'm waitin' in your welfare line." The other is "I'm more than a number in your little black book, I'm more than a one night stand." Does anyone know the rest of the words, and possibly a recording?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 29 Jan 02 - 08:00 PM

Not sure I'd call them depression era songs, but here are some links to the words.

The first is Buck Owens' (I've Got The Hungries For Your Love And I'm) Waiting In The Welfare Line

The second was The Drifters' You're More Than A Number In My Little Red Book

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Jan 02 - 08:03 PM

You are priceless, Mick! Thanks for being here, friend.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: rea
Date: 29 Jan 02 - 08:34 PM

Thanks! The wrong words would be due to my mom, whose hearing has always been weak. I didn't realize the tunes were so recent...huh.

rea

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 30 Jan 02 - 04:54 PM

Sorcha - I'm sure only graciousness stopped you including links you'd already found in your post.

Mick

Subject: Lyr Add: Songs of the depression
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 07:30 AM

Found this if anybody is interested.
G

Subject: ADD: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime^^^
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 01:35 PM

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,

When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.

They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,

Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I 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, up 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 Doodly Dum,

Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,

And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.

Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,

Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,

Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,

And 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? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

from the link Giok posted
Prepared by Professor Catherine Lavender for courses in The Department of History, The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York

Subject: ADD: Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 01:38 PM

"Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," lyrics by Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson (1931)

People are queer, they're always crowing, scrambling and rushing about;

Why don't they stop someday, address themselves this way?

Why are we here? Where are we going? It's time that we found out.

We're not here to stay; we're on a short holiday.

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.

You work, you save, you worry so,

But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.

So keep repeating it's the berries,

The strongest oak must fall,

The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned

So how can you lose what you've never owned?

Life is just a bowl of cherries,

So live and laugh at it all.

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.

At eight each morning I have got a date,

To take my plunge 'round the Empire State.

You'll admit it's not the berries,

In a building that's so tall;

There's a guy in the show, the girls love to kiss;

Get thousands a week just for crooning like this:

Life is just a bowl of . . . aw, nuts!

So live and laugh at it all!

from the link Giok posted
Prepared by Professor Catherine Lavender for courses in The Department of History, The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York

Subject: ADD: We're in the Money
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 01:40 PM

"We're in the Money," lyrics by Al Dubin, music by Harry Warren (from the film Gold Diggers of 1933, 1933)

We're in the money, we're in the money;

We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!

We're in the money, that sky is sunny,

Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong.

We never see a headline about breadlines today.

And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye

We're in the money, come on, my honey,

Let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along!

Oh, yes we're in the money, you bet we're in the money,

We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!

Let's go we're in the money, Look up the skies are sunny,

Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong.

We never see a headline about breadlines today.

And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye

We're in the money, come on, my honey,

Let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along!

from the link Giok posted
Prepared by Professor Catherine Lavender for courses in The Department of History, The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York

Subject: ADD: Waitin' In Your Welfare Line (Buck Owens?)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 01:51 PM

WAITIN' IN YOUR WELFARE LINE
Performed by Buck Owens & the Buckaroos
Source album: Buck Owens Live At Carnegie Hall (CD)
Transcription by Eric M. Phillips

NOTE: I believe that both Buck Owens and Don Rich (lead guitar) and probably Doyle Holly (bass) all tuned their guitars a half-tone down in this album. So get your gold-flake Telecaster ;^) and lower the strings to
Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb
and play the chords as written.

NOTE #2 This live cut differs from the studio cut in that Buck flubbed the words to the second verse! For completeness, I am including the studio cut lyrics. Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------

INTRO:             G         Em                   A7               D7
  G
  I got the hun-gries for your love, and I'm waitin' in your welfare line.
  
  VERSE 1
                  G                         Em                      C   D7
  G
  Well, I ain't got nothin' but the shirt on my back, and an old two-button suit
     G       C                D7          G
  I walked outta my job about a week ago, and I'm sleepin' in a telephone booth
               G                         Em             C       D7
  G
  But I'm a-gonna be the richest guy around, the day you say you're mine
              G       Em                   A7             D7      G
  I got the hungries for your love and I'm waitin' in your welfare line

VERSE 2
Well, when I first met you babe, you nearly made me wreck my ol' '49 Cadillac
Yeah I knew at a glance that it was you for me; I had to have your love by heck
I'm gonna follow you baby wherever you go; I got nothin' to lose but my time
I got the hungries for your love, and I'm waitin' in your welfare line

LEAD SOLO - Same as the last two lines of the verse!

VERSE 3
Well, you made me the top dog of your hill, and I was overjoyed
But it didn't take long until the thrill was gone, I joined the ranks of the unemployed
Now I'm right back where that I started from, but I ain't gonna change my mind
I got the hungries for your love, and I'm waitin' in your welfare line
I'm waitin' in your welfare line (Gimme a handout)
I'm waitin' in your welfare line.

---

from the link posted by Mick above

Subject: Add: You're More Than A Number In My Little Red Bk
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 01:58 PM

You're More Than A Number In My Little Red Book
(recorded by The Drifters)

oooooooooo yeah yeah,
You're more than a number in my little red book,
you're more than a one night date,
All it had to take me was just one look,
My heart began a thumpin',
Babe you had it jumpin',
Cause' you're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night stand,
In case you get to thinkin' that you'd been took,
You're more than a number,
Written in my little red book.

Oh baby give us a chance,
Don't let the small town rumours
end our first real romance,
Now I admit I've loved a few,
But there was never one like you,
So Darlin, dont believe the things that they say.

Chorus

You're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night date,
All it had to take me was just one look,
My heart began a thumpin',
Babe you had it jumpin,
Cause' you're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night stand,
In case you get to thinkin' that you'd been took,
You're more than a number,
Written in my little red book.

Oh baby,
You gave me a sign,
I threw away the numbers
of those old flames of mine,
And now they're tryin' to put you whilst,
Knock me down in my girls eyes,
Oh Darlin, Dont believe the words that they say.

Chorus

You're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night date,
All it had to take me was just one look,
My heart began a thumpin',
Babe you had it jumpin,
Cause' you're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night stand,
In case you get to thinkin' that you'd been took,
You're more than a number,
Written in my little red book.

Chorus to fade

Whoooo ooooo

You're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night date,
All it had to take me was just one look,
My heart began a thumpin',
Babe you had it jumpin,
Cause' you're more than a number in my little red book,
You're more than a one night stand,
In case you get to thinkin' that you'd been took,
You're more than a number,
Written in my little red book.

---

Source: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_drifters/youre_more_than_a_number_in_my_little_red_book.html

I don't think I'd call the Drifters Depression-Era, but I think there was a recession in their time....

Subject: Lyr Add: BEANS, BACON AND GRAVY
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 03:55 PM

BEANS, BACON AND GRAVY

I was born long ago,
In eighteen ninety-four.
I've seen many a panic, I will own,
I've been hungry, I've been cold,
And now I'm growing old.
But the worst I've seen is nineteen thirty-one.

cho: Oh, those beans, bacon and gravy,
They almost drive me crazy,
I eat them, I see them in my dreams.
When I wake up each morning
And another day is dawning,
I know I'll have another mess of beans.

We congregate each morning
At the county barn at dawning,
And everyone is happy, so it seems.
But when our work is done
We file in one by one,
And thank the Lord for one more mess of beans.

We have Hooverized on butter,
For milk we've only water,
And I haven't seen a steak in many a day.
For cakes and pies and jellies
We substitute sow bellies,
For which we work the county road each day.

If there ever comes a time
When I have more than a dime,
They will have to put me under lock and key.
For I've been broke so long
I can only sing this song
Of the workers and their misery.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Art Thieme
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 05:38 PM

One that I always used in presentations of that era was Woody Guthrie's "East Texas Red." Even though it was later, it sure did fit those hard times where improvised measures were sometimes called for.

Art Thieme

Subject: Lyr Add: BEANS TASTE FINE (Shel Silverstein)
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 05:46 PM

A couple of tunes come to mind. "One Meat Ball," is a favorite which Josh White, among others, made famous. The other doesn't truly qualify as a "folk tune," but the wry humor would have certainly fit the times - "Beans, they taste fine" by Shel Silverstein. I heard it as a blues many years ago and thought it sounded just fine.

Beans Taste Fine
(Shel Silverstein)

Now a friend of mine, way back in Chicago
You know, he finally made his pile.
Well he got himself a mansion on Butler and Sheff
An' he was livin' in the latest style;
But I run into him, he was eatin' in a greasy spoon
While parkled in front was his big limousine.
I said, "Buddy, you've got so much money
How come youre in here, eatin beans?"
An' he said

After you've been havin' steak for a long time
Beans, beans taste fine.
An' after you've been drinkin' champagne and brandy
You gonna settle for wine.
He said "The world is funny, and people are strange
And man is a creature of constant change, and
After you've been havin' steak for a long time
Beans, beans taste fine."

Now, you know I ran into another friend of mine
In a rowdy old Clark Street Bar,
I said, "Friend, is it true what I heard about you?
I heard you married a beautiful 18-year old shapely movie star,
Yet here you sit, tryin' to make out with some barfly
Who's too old and ugly to be true."
He said, "Shelley, you're still a very young man
So sit down. I'll explain it all to you.
He said,

After you've been havin' steak for a long time
Beans, beans taste fine.
An' after you've been drinkin' champagne and Chivas Regal
You gonna settle for Thunderbird wine.
He said "The world is funny, and people are strange
And man is a creature of constant change, and
After you've been havin' steak for a long time
Beans, beans taste fine."

Copyright BMI

Subject: Lyr Add: POOR MAN'S HEAVEN (Billings/Robinson)
From: NormanD
Date: 23 Jan 08 - 07:20 AM

POOR MAN'S HEAVEN
As recorded by Bud Billings & Carson Robison (1932)


Now friends gather near, I want you to hear
A dream that I had last night
There's a land o'er the sea for you and for me
Where we won't have to struggle and fight.

There's real feather beds where we lay our heads
And a nice private room for each one
There's shoes with soles and pants without holes
And no work up there to be done

In Poor Man's Heaven, the land of the free
There's nothing up there but good luck
There's strawberry pie that's twenty feet high
And whipped cream they bring in a truck.

We'll own all the banks and shoot all the cranks
And we won't give a durn who we hurt
And the millionaire's son won't have so much fun
When we put him to shovelling dirt.

We'll know how it feels in automobiles
With a footman to open the door
And folks that get smart, we'll take them apart
And spread them all over the floor.

In Poor Man's Heaven, we'll run the whole place
And we won't have nothing to fear
We'll eat all we please, from ham and egg trees
That grow by a lake full of beer.

We'll live on champagne and ride on the train
And sleep in the Pullman at night
And if someone should dare to ask for our fare
We'll haul off and put out his light.

We'll take an iron rail and open the jail
And let all the poor men out quick
And the sheriff's own mug we'll throw in the jug
And then throw the key in the creek.

In Poor Man's Heaven we'll have our own way
No salt pork and beans over there
But we will be fed our breakfast in bed
And served by a fat millionaire

We won't need to yearn for money to burn
'Cause we'll own a big money press
We'll run her full speed, and make all we need
And light our cigars with the rest.

The landlords we'll take and tie to a stake
And make 'em give back all our dough
Then we'll let them sweat, and learn what they get
When they go to that hot place below

In Poor Man's Heaven we'll own our own home
And we won't have to work like a slave
Then we will be proud to sing right out loud
The land of the free and the brave.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: masato sakurai
Date: 23 Jan 08 - 07:53 AM

See also 1920s & 1930s: THE DEPRESSION & THE NEW DEAL for songs & lyrics.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 23 Jan 08 - 07:59 AM

Great source Masato, thanks very much.
Giok

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: open mike
Date: 23 Jan 08 - 06:18 PM

there is a magazine that focusses on music from that era.
No Depression Magazine

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: topical tom
Date: 24 Jan 08 - 02:44 PM

"May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 25 Jan 08 - 10:35 PM

LET'S HAVE ANOTHER CUP O' COFFEE (Irving Berlin)

Mister Herbert Hoover says that now's the time to buy….

From the early, optimistic days of the Depression, when some people believed that a little extra private spending would stimulate the economy into recovery.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Amos
Date: 25 Jan 08 - 11:55 PM

My grandfather's favorite was "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum", which he sang with gusto.

"Oh why don't you work, like other men do?
How the hell can I work, when there's no work to do?"


A

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Jan 08 - 11:35 PM

These "Various Artists" albums may be of interest:

"The Great Depression: American Music in the '30s," Columbia CD CK-57589, 1993.

1 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - Rudy Vallee
2 All of Me - Louis Armstrong
3 It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Duke Ellington
4 Hungarian Varsovienne - Henri Ford, Old Fashioned Dance Orchestra
5 Detroit Moan - Victoria Spivey
6 We Sure Got Hard Times - Barbecue Bob
7 Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground) - Blind Willie Johnson
8 I'm Slappin' Seventh Avenue (With the Sole of My Shoe) - Duke Ellington and Orchestra
9 Mean Low Blues - Blues Birdhead
10 Happy Days Are Here Again - Casa Loma Orchestra
11 There's a New Day Comin' - Ted Lewis
12 I Surrender, Dear - Red Norvo & His Orchestra
13 Creole Love Call - Duke Ellington
14 Gloomy Sunday - Billie Holiday
15 Headin' for Better Times - T. Lewis
16 N. R. A. Blues - Bill Cox
17 Are You Making Any Money? - Chick Bullock and His Levee Loungers
18 He's in the Ring (Doing the Same Old Thing) - Memphis Minnie
19 With Plenty of Money and You (Oh! Baby What I Couldn't Do) - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
20 Dawn of a New Day - Horace Heidt & His Orchestra
21 Whistle While You Work - Artie Shaw & His New Music

"Songs of the Depression: Boom, Bust & New Deal," Bear Family CD 16029, 1999:

1 Hittin' the Ceiling - Smith Ballew
2 I'm in the Market for You - Bert Ambrose, Ambrose Orchestra
3 Happy Days Are Here Again - Casa Loma Orchestra
4 Song of the Bayou - Hardy, Marion Alabamians
5 Eddie Cantor's Tips on the Stock Market [Monologue] - Eddie Cantor
6 A Cottage for Sale - Hotel Pennsylvania Music
7 Get Happy - Ted Wallace, Campus Boys
8 Sweeping the Clouds Away [From: Paramount on Parade] - Casa Loma Orchestra
9 Laughing at Life - McKinney's Cotton Pickers
10 It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken) [From: Playboy of Paris] - Sam Lanin
11 Cheer Up! Good Times Are Comin' - Hotel Pennsylvania Music
12 Cheer Up! Smile! Nertz! [Ballyhoo] - Eddie Cantor, Phil Spitalny Music
13 Singing a Vagabond Song [From: Putting on the Ritz] - Ted Lewis Orchestra
14 Son of the Sun [From: Luana] - Jack Teagarden, Ben Pollack Orchestra
15 Hallelujah, I'm a Bum [From Hallelujah I'm A Bum] - Al Jolson
16 Big City Blues [From: Fox Movietone Follies of 1929] - Annette Hanshaw
17 There's a Tear for Every Smile in Hollywood [From: Showgirl in ...] - Blue Steele
18 Ten Cents a Dance - Ruth Etting
19 Cigarettes Cigars [From: Ziegfeld Follies of 1931] - Ruth Etting
20 Just a Gigolo [From: Doctor Cheer CBS Radio Transcription] - Johnny Marvin
21 Love for Sale [From: The New Yorkers'] - Libby Holman
22 We Can Live on Love - Smith Ballew
23 There's No Depression in Love - Vincent Rose
24 Now's the Time to Fall in Love [From: Palmy Days'] - Victor Young
25 I'm an Unemployed Sweetheart - Lee Morse
26 I've Got Five Dollars [From: America's Sweetheart'] - Emil Coleman
27 I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store) - Paul Specht
28 Last Dollar - Eddie Droesch
29 Here It Is Monday and I've Still Got a Dollar - Chick Bullock
30 Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) - Mildred Bailey
31 Whistling in the Dark - Sam Lanin
32 Dancing in the Dark [From: The Band Wagon] - Ben Selvin Orchestra
33 Alone Together [From: Flying Colors] - Victor Young
34 Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries [Excerpt from: Gems from: White, ...] - Mills Brothers, Boswell Sisters, Bing Crosby
35 (We've Got To) Put That Sun Back in the Sky - Boswell Sisters
36 Shoo the Hoodoo Away - Bert Ambrose, Orchestra Ambrose
37 Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away - Ben Selvin Orchestra
38 Headin' for Better Times - Ted Lewis Orchestra
39 Let's Have Another Cup o’ Coffee [From: Face the Music] - Enric Madriguera
40 Sittin' on a Rubbish Can - Julia Gerity
41 Underneath the Arches - Henry Hall
42 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - Bing Crosby
43 Remember My Forgotten Man [From: Gold Diggers of 1933] - Freddy Martin
44 It Must Be Swell to Be Laying Out Dead - Alex Bartha
45 Supper Time [From: As Thousands Cheer] - Leo Reisman
46 Banking on the Weather [From: Crooner] - Russ Carlson
47 A Shanty in Old Shanty Town - Gene Kardos
48 (Here We Are) Rolling in Love [From: The Old Fashioned Way] - Joe Morrison
49 I'd Rather Be a Beggar With You - Gene Bullock
50 Here You Come with Love - Freddy Martin
51 Let's Put Out the Lights (And Go to Sleep) - Bing Crosby
52 The Clouds Will Soon Roll By - Graham Prince
53 Rome Wasn't Built in a Day [From: Roman Scandels] - Abe Lyman
54 If I Ever Get a Job Again - Gene Kardos
55 Them Good Old Times Are Coming Back Again - Ben Selvin Orchestra
56 Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? [From: The Three Little Pigs] - Ben Bernie
57 There's a New Day Comin' - Ted Lewis Orchestra
58 Buy America! - Ted Lewis Orchestra
59 Hey! Young Fella - Ruth Etting
60 The Grass Is Gettin' Greener All the Time - Victor Young
61 (I Went Hunting) And the Big Bad Wolf Was Dead [From: Cockeyed Cavaliers] - Ted Fiorito
62 We're Out of the Red [From: Stand Up and Cheer] - Ramona Davies, Park Avenue Boys
63 We're in the Money (The Gold Diggers Song) [From: Gold Diggers of 1933] - Boswell Sisters
64 The Road Is Open Again [From: The Road Is Open Again] - Dick Powell
65 Let 'Em Eat Cake [From: Let 'Em Eat Cake] - Emil Coleman
66 In a One Room Flat [From: The Way to Love] - Freddy Martin
67 What Have We Got to Lose? (Hi-Ho-Lack-A-Day) - Phil Harris
68 Stringin' Along on a Shoe String - Henry Red Allen, Coleman Hawkins
69 When My Ship Comes In [From: Kid Millions] - Eddie Cantor
70 If I Had a Million Dollars [From: Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round] - Boswell Sisters
71 Our Penthouse on Third Avenue - Gene Kardos
72 Raisin' the Rent [From: The Cotton Club Revue] - Romona Bargy, Roy Bargy
73 Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Chick Bullock
74 The Boulevard of Broken Dreams [From: Moulin Rouge] - Connie Boswell
75 Now I'm a Lady [From: Goin' to Town] - Paul Whiteman Orchestra
76 I Gotta Get Up and Go to Work - Adrian Rollini & the Gang
77 Gotta Go to Work Again [From: My Man Godfrey] - Ted Wallace
78 Are You Making Any Money? - Chick Bullock
79 Got the Jitters - Ozzie Nelson
80 Rain - Don Bestor
81 With Plenty of Money and You [From: Gold Diggers of 1937] - Ink Spots
82 I'm Feelin' Like a Million [From: Broadway Melody of 1938] - Teddy Hill
83 Slumming on Park Avenue [From: On the Avenue] - Red Norvo
84 Whistle While You Work [From: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs] - Artie Shaw
85 W.P.A. - Louis Armstrong, Mills Brothers
86 Hey Pop! I Don't Wanna Go to Work - Kay Kyser
87 Dawn of a New Day - Horace Heidt
88 Happy Days Are Here Again - Ben Selvin Orchestra

"Poor Man's Heaven: Blues & Tales of the Great Depression," Bluebird CD 50958, 2003:

1 Eddie Cantor's Tips on the Stock Market - Eddie Cantor
2 A Tale of the Ticker - Frank Crumit
3 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - Leo Reisman And His Orchestra
4 Remember My Forgotten Man [From: Gold Diggers of 1933] - George Hall
5 It Must Be Swell to Be Laying Out Dead - Alex Bartha And His Hotel Traymore
6 Raisin' the Rent - Ramona, Roy Bargy
7 Sittin' on a Rubbish Can - Julia Gerity And Her Boys
8 Ten Cents a Dance [Simple Simon] - High Hatters
9 Poor Man's Heaven - Bud Billings, Carson Robison
10 The Rich Man and the Poor Man - Bob Miller
11 Hallelujah, I'm a Bum - Harry "Mac" McClintock
12 All In, Down and Out Blues - Uncle Dave Macon
13 Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Them All - Fiddlin' John Carson
14 How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? - Blind Alfred Reed
15 The Farmer Relief Song - Vernon Dalhart
16 Dusty Old Dust (So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh) - Woody Guthrie
17 35 Depression - Daddy Stovepipe, Mississippi Sarah
18 California Desert Blues - Lane Hardin
19 It's Hard Time - Joe Stone
20 President Roosevelt Is Everybody's Friend - J.M. Gates
21 Cwa Blues - Joe Pullum
22 Jimmy Shut His Store Doors - Cedar Creek Sheik
23 Welfare Store Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson
24 Poor But Ambitious - Wilmoth Houdini

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Uke
Date: 28 Jan 08 - 07:50 PM

Here is a collection of songs performed in American migrant labor camps in 1940-41:

Voices from the Dustbowl


On the complete flipside is this excellent compilation of peppy pop songs from the period:

Looking on the Bright Side: 25 Cheer-up songs, 1925-41. AVS/Living Era 5255

1. When You're Smiling - Louis Armstrong
2. Happy Days Are Here Again - Bert Ambrose
3. Looking on the Bright Side - Gracie Fields
4. Lucky Day - The Revelers
5. Sunshine - Whispering Jack Smith
6. The Best Things in Life Are Free - Jack Hylton
7. My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now - The National Cavaliers
8. Spread a Little Happiness - Binnie Hale
9. Singin' in the Rain - Cliff 'Ukelele Ike' Edwards
10. Painting the Clouds with Sunshine - Johnny Marvin
11. Keep Your Sunny Side Up - Johnny Hamp & His Kentucky Serenaders
12. On the Sunny Side of the Street - Ted Lewis
13. Happy Feet - Paul Whiteman
14. Sunny Days - Layton & Johnstone
15. Smile, Darn Ya, Smile - Billy Colton
16. Today I Feel So Happy - Percival Mackey & His Kit-Cat Band
17. Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries - Jack Hylton
18. The Clouds Will Soon Roll By - Elsie Carlisle
19. Letting In the Sunshine - Sam Browne
20. There's a New Day Comin' - Harry Roy
21. When You've Got a Little Springtime in Your Heart - Al Bowlly
22. Pennies from Heaven - Frances Langford/Louis Armstrong/Bing Crosby
23. Things Are Looking Up - Fred Astaire
24. With a Smile and a Song - Freddie Rich
25. Look for the Silver Lining - Connee Boswell

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 29 Jan 08 - 08:06 PM

One of my favorites from the depression era, although it's about the Dust Bowl rather than the original depression years, is Do Re Mi.

SC

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Feb 08 - 07:49 AM

These songs can be found in other threads:

A Shanty in Old Shanty Town
A Tale of the Ticker
Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Get Happy
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store)
It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken)
Just a Gigolo
So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh
Supper Time
Ten Cents a Dance
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Underneath the Arches

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Feb 08 - 09:49 AM

And a few others I might list:

“The Panic Is On!” in Jerry Silverman's anthology of the same title
“Christmas on the East Side” by Aunt Molly Jackson
“I'm a Jolly Banker” by Woody Guthrie
“I Ain't Got No Home” by Woody Guthrie
“There Is Mean Things Happenin'” John Handcox and Sis Cunningham
“How Can You Keep On Movin'” by Sis Cunningham
“W.P.A. Blues” by Big Bill Casey
“The Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes
“The Joint Is Jumpin'” by Fats Waller & Andy Razar
“La Marche des Proprietaires (The March of the Landlords)”

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: GUEST,OLD - TIMER
Date: 01 Feb 08 - 03:44 PM

NO DEPRESSION by The Carter Family would fit in here.--Mike Seeger did a nice version of this song too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: GUEST,sophie
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 03:19 PM

does anyone have the lyrics to the film version of "Dusty Shoes" from the 1933 film "Moonlight and Pretzels". Also, any good stock market crash songs? Thanks!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: GUEST,GI Joe
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 06:09 PM

New Lost City Ramblers CD “There Ain’t No Way Out” also The New Lost City Ramblers “The Early Years 1958-1962”
“How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?”
“Sales Tax on the Women”
“We’ve Got Franklin D. Roosevelt Back Again”
“No Depression (in Heaven)”
“Talking Hard Luck”

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: topical tom
Date: 28 Sep 08 - 01:57 PM

This could be an unofficial anthem of the Depression era: Hobo's Lullaby

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: topical tom
Date: 28 Sep 08 - 02:10 PM

A very good version of "Hobo's Lullaby".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Sep 08 - 03:24 PM

Let's hope that this oncoming Depression at least brings us some good songs...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Fred Maslan
Date: 28 Sep 08 - 04:24 PM

"Ten Cents a Dance"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: GUEST,ACFab
Date: 05 Mar 10 - 02:59 PM

There's a line in the middle of a song from the musical All Night Strut (which is all from the same era)... it's like "you're a lucky man" or "you're in luck"... i don't know... anyone got any ideas? I know it's like really vague, but ya know...

Subject: Lyr Add; CIGARETTES, CIGARS (Mack/Revel)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Jul 13 - 12:39 PM

Lyr. Add: CIGARETTES, CIGARS
Gordon Mack, Harry Revel, 1933

(spoken)
Cigarettes, cigars! Cigarettes, cigars!
Hi, cutie! Over here!
Whatta you want?
Let's see what you got here. Oh, slip us twenty Camels.
Okay
You're a swell lookin' dame. What are you doin' in a joint like this?
Huh! That's what I'd like to know.

(Singing)
I was one of those hicks
That came here from the sticks
Trying to find the kind of fame
The name of Broadway stands for
I was one of those fools
Who dreamed of riches and jewels
Now I awake
Find my mistake
I'd get a break
Broadway's a fake!

I work in a speak that's dim and dingy
Where standers are pretenders, cheap and stingy
All I smell is rotten scotch and ginger
Cigarettes, cigars!

Now I've learned what smoking coke and snow means
Among the guys who've never learned what "no" means
You ask me do I know what making dough means
Cigarettes, cigars!

To Heaven I Just send up
My lonely plea
Is this where I end up?
Oh, good Lord, answer me!

Every evening as the night life dies out
I walk home to sleep and weep my eyes out
Can't you hear a broken heart that cries out
Cigarettes, cigars! Cigarettes, cigars!

(spoken)
Say, have you ever seen Broadway when its glamor is gone?
When the night clubs are closing and the whole world is dozing and sleeping until
the dawn? Why, all its glory and splendor and marvelous sights, they all fade out
together as they turn down the lights, with street beggars mumbling, milk wagons
rumbling, dream castles tumbling in the air.
Oh, it's lonesome and weary, friendless and dreary, a pitiful sight of despair!

(singing)
Every evening as the night life dies out
I walk home to sleep and weep my eyes out
Can't you hear a broken heart that cries out
Cigarettes, cigars! Cigarettes, cigars!

The classic as sung by Florence Desmond.

Words from www.lyricsmania.com

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Jul 13 - 12:58 PM

"Brother, can you spare a dime, " verse added by E. Y. (Yip) Harburg, some years later:

Once we had a Roosevelt,
Praise the Lord!
Life had meaning and hope
Now we're stuck with Nixon, Agnew, Ford
Brother, can you spare a rope?

From Wiki article on the song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Depression Era Songs
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Jul 13 - 03:55 PM

CIGARETTES, CIGARS

Both Florence Desmond and Ruth Etting versions on youtube.

Subject: Lyr Add: IN THE FALL OF '29 (W. Lee O'Daniel)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Oct 13 - 08:14 PM

I heard this on the radio today and had to look it up on Spotify. You can hear it on YouTube.


IN THE FALL OF '29
As sung by W Lee O'Daniel & His Light Crust Doughboys, 1933.

1. "Why, hello there, mister iceman. Where have I seen your face?"
"Please don't try to tease me, mister, just because I lost the race.
I was once a great big banker worth a million for a time,
But I lost the whole kaboodle in the fall of twenty-nine."

CHORUS: In the fall of twenty-nine, in the fall of twenty-nine,
That's when we started sliding: in the fall of twenty-nine.
'Twas the fall of fifty-fifty: you lost yours and I lost mine,
But it made us all more human since the fall of twenty-nine.

2. "Hey there, mister taxi driver. Where have I seen you before?"
"Listen, buddy; I'm the fella who had stocks and bonds galore.
My office was on Wall Street; ev'rything was going fine,
But my stocks and bonds all vanished in the fall of twenty-nine." CHORUS

3. "Hey there, mister apple vendor, with that old familiar toot."
"Gee whiz, you do remember I'm the guy who played the flute.
I was making lots of money; the way I spent it was a crime,
But my income stopped completely in the fall of twenty-nine." CHORUS

4. Who's that ringing our front doorbell? She has magazines to sell.
Well, wouldn't that surprise you! If it isn't missus swell.
She used to lead the whole Four Hundred, had twelve servants all the time,
But it seems she got a setback in the fall of twenty-nine. CHORUS

5. There were folks in high-up places before the fall of twenty-nine,
But now you find their faces in that good old free-bread line.
We thought we were intelligent before that fateful fall,
But now we've come to realize we didn't know it all. CHORUS


[Interesting that the songwriter calls it a "fall of 50/50" implying, I suppose, that it affected rich people and poor people equally. How different that is from our recent recession! Have you heard of any bankers who became delivery people, or stock brokers who became taxi drivers?]

Subject: Lyr Add; (EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE) O.K. AMERICA
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Oct 13 - 11:23 PM

The last song was found on the various-artists album "The Panic Is On: The Great American Depression as Seen by the Common Man" (2009)

The same album also contained this one (and I will probably be posting more):

(EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE) O.K. AMERICA
As recorded by Art Kassel & His Kassels in the Air (1932)

Ev'rything is gonna be OK, America; OK, America, now.
Wrap up your troubles
And throw them away.
They're only bubbles,
And you'll find that out someday.
Beyond the blue horizon,
A rainbow's peepin' through,
So just keep your eyes on
That good old red white and blue.
Say, ev'rything is gonna be OK, America; OK, America, now.

[Spoken:] Come on, let's all sing it!

Ev'rything is gonna be OK, America; OK, America now.
Wrap up your troubles
And throw them away.
They're only bubbles,
You'll find out someday.
Beyond the blue horizon,
A rainbow's peepin' through,
So just to keep your eyes on
That patch of sky that's blue.
So everything is gonna be OK, America; OK, America, now

Subject: Lyr Add: IF I EVER GET A JOB AGAIN (Lewis/Baer)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Oct 13 - 03:27 PM

IF I EVER GET A JOB AGAIN
Words by Samuel Lewis, music by Abel Baer.
As recorded by Dick Robertson and His Band, 1933.

If I ever get a job again,
I will never be a snob again.
I'll live within my means,
Carry a dollar in my jeans,
If I ever get a job again.

If I ever get a break again,
Brother, what I'll do to steak again!
No turning out the light,
Bidding my appetite goodnight,
If I ever get a break again.

I'll get two rooms and a kitchenette,
Furnished comfortably.
With two rooms and a kitchenette,
I'll get a sweet somebody to move in with me.

If I ever get a job again,
I know that two hearts will throb again.
She told me with her eyes
We'll be rehearsing lullabies
If I ever get a job again.

If I ever get a job again,
I will never be a snob again.
I'm through with stocks and bonds.
I'd rather spend it all on blondes,
If I ever get a job again.

If I ever get my pay again,
I'll save it for a rainy day again,
But let me tell you, Bud,
I'm gonna save up for a flood
If I ever get my pay again.

I'll get two suits and an overcoat,
Like a millionaire—
Just two suits and an overcoat,
And then when things get better, I'll buy underwear!

If I ever get a job again,
With my old friends I'll hobnob again.
What fun it will be
Saying, "Just have one more on me,"
If I ever get a job again.

Subject: Lyr Add: MY OLD MAN (Ewan MacColl)
From: tritoneman
Date: 04 Oct 13 - 09:02 PM

When I think of Great Depression songs I always think of Woody Guthrie's superb songs. Although it wasn't actually written in the 1930's, Ewan MacColl's 'My Old Man' is a super, evocative yet hard hitting and moving song about his father's life as an iron moulder in Manchester during the depression. Graham

My old man was a good old man
Skilled in the moulding trade
In the stinking heat of the iron foundry
My old man was made
Down on his knees in the moulding sand
He wore his trade like a company brand
He was one of the cyclops' smoky band
Yes, that was my old man

My old man wasn't really old
It's just that I was young
And anybody over twelve years old
Was halfway to the tomb
He was loyal to his workmates all his life
Gave his pay packet to his wife
Had a few jars on a Saturday night
Yes, that was my old man

My old man was a union man
Fought hard all his days
He understood the system
And was wise to the boss' ways
He says, if you want what's yours by right
You have to struggle with all your might
They'll rob you blind if you don't fight
So that was my old man

My old man was a proud old man
At home on the foundry floor
Until the day they paid him off
And showed him to the door
They gave him his card, said, things are slack
We've got a machine can learn the knack
Of doing your job, so don't come back
The end of my old man

My old man he was fifty-one
What was he to do?
A craftsman moulder on the dole
In nineteen thirty-two
He felt he'd given all he could give
So he did what thousands of others did
Abandoned hope and the will to live
They killed him, my old man

My old man he is dead and gone
Now I am your old man
And my advice to you, my son
Is to fight back while you can
Watch out for the man with the silicon chip
Hold on to your job with a good firm grip
'Cause if you don't you'll have had your chips
The same as my old man

Subject: Lyr Add: THE CLOUDS WILL SOON ROLL BY
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Oct 13 - 11:29 PM

THE CLOUDS WILL SOON ROLL BY
Words, George Brown. Music, Harry Woods & George Brown, ©1932.

Somewhere the sun is shining,
So, honey, don't you cry.
We'll find a silver lining.
The clouds will soon roll by.

We'll hear a robin singing
Upon a treetop high.
To you and me he's singing.
The clouds will soon roll by.

Each little tear and sorrow
Only brings you closer to me.
Just wait until tomorrow.
What a happy day that will be!

Down lovers' lane together,
We'll wander, you and I.
Goodbye to stormy weather,
The clouds will soon roll by.

Subject: Lyr Add: HEADIN' FOR BETTER TIMES (Tobias/Mencher)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Oct 13 - 01:51 PM

HEADIN' FOR BETTER TIMES
Written by Charles Tobias & Murray Mencher, &1930.
As recorded by Ted Lewis and His Band

[§1] Put a coat of joy right on.
In a minute we'll be gone
On a choo-choo-choo-choo headin' for better times.
Mister Gloom won't be allowed
In an optimistic crowd
On a choo-choo-choo-choo headin' for better times.
Don't take a trunk of junk filled with yesterdays.
Tomorrow we're gonna see sunshine.
As we go from state to state,
We'll be shouting: "Things are great!"
On a choo-choo-choo-choo headin' for better times.

[§2] First stop on the way:
Town called Happy Days.
Next stop, yessiree:
What you call Prosperity.
What's this town we're in?
That's called Work Begins.
Last stop, can't you guess?
Nothin' else but Happiness.

REPEAT §1.

Subject: Lyr Add: BAD TIME BLUES (Barbecue Bob)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Oct 13 - 02:56 PM

BAD TIME BLUES
As recorded by Barbecue Bob (Robert Hicks), ©1928.

Bad times upon me; tell 'em what a panic is on. (2x)
I feel so disgusted; all the good times done gone.

Ev'rybody is crying; they can't get a break. (2x)
Tell me what's the matter; ev'rything seems too late.

When you hear me howlin', then you know something going on wrong.
When you hear me howlin', then you know something's wrong.
Bad times is got me, why I sing this song.

I can't make a nickel; I'm flat as I can be. (2x)
Some people say money is talkin' but it won't say a word to me.

I ain't had a paycheck since the devil was a boy. (2x)
If I'd get a real job, I'd pass out with joy.

Bad times upon me; I can't get a gal. (2x)
You know a gal costs money when she'll be a pal.

Bad times upon me; baby, need some shoes. (2x)
Bad luck hangin' around, keep me singin' bad times blues.

Subject: Lyr Add: WELFARE STORE BLUES (Sonny Boy Williamson
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Oct 13 - 10:51 PM

WELFARE STORE BLUES
As recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson, 1940.

1. Now me and my baby, we talked last night, and we talked for nearly an hour.
She wanted me to go down to the welfare store, and get a sack of that welfare flour,
But I told her: "No, babe, and I sure don't want to go."
I say: "I'll do anything in the world for you, I don't want to go down to that welfare store."

2. "Now you need to go get you some real white man, you know, to sign your little note.
They give you a pair o' them cane-toad shoes, and one o' those old pinch-back soldier coats,"
But I told 'em: "No, babe, and I sure don't want to go."
I say: "I'll do anything in the world for you, I don't want to go down to that welfare store."

3. President Roosevelt said of them welfare people: "They gon' treat ev'rybody right."
Say: "They give you a can o' them beans, and a can or two of them old tripe,"
But I told 'em: "No, babe, and I sure don't want to go."
I say: "I'll do anything in the world for you, I don't want to go down to that welfare store."

4. Well now, me and my baby, we talked yesterday, and we talked in my back yard.
She say: "I'll take care o' you, Sonny Boy, just as long as these times stay hard,"
And I told her: "Yeah, babe, and I sure won't have to go,"
I say: "and if you do that for me, I won't have to go down to that welfare store."

Subject: Lyr Add: I CAN'T GO TO THE POOR HOUSE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Oct 13 - 11:45 PM

I CAN'T GO TO THE POOR HOUSE
As recorded by Dick Robertson, 1932.

I haven't got a single cent and I am all alone.
This world is treating me so cold and I'm without a home.
To ev'rybody that I meet I tell them my sad case.
They say to me: "Why don't you go to the poorhouse? That's your place."

But I can't go to the poorhouse; that ain't no place for me.
I can't go to the poorhouse although the lodging's free.
It ain't that I've got too much pride; I'm humble as a pup,
But I can't go to the poorhouse 'cause the beds are all filled up.

I can't go to the poorhouse way over on the hill.
I can't go to the poorhouse that used to be a mill.
I asked them why I can't get in; they told me, I declare:
Oh, I can't go to the poorhouse; all the millionaires are there.

I can't go to the poorhouse although I know I should.
I can't go to the poorhouse although I wish I could.
I'd go there in my limousine; I've got one, too, that's class,
But I can't go to the poorhouse because I can't buy gas.

I can't go to the poorhouse; there ain't no use to try.
I can't go to the poorhouse; I've got six reasons why:
There's Freddy, Mary, Jim, and Joe; there's Baby and the wife.
Say, I can't go to the poorhouse; I brought it on myself.


[I don't get why the last 2 lines don't rhyme. Is there a subtle joke here I'm not getting?]

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN MY STOCKS COME TUMBLING DOWN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Oct 13 - 12:02 PM

WHEN MY STOCKS COME TUMBLING DOWN
As recorded by Fields and Hall (Arthur Fields and Fred Hall), 1929.

I'm the chump you've heard about.
There's more like me without a doubt.
When stock reports are given out,
Oh, what a sucker!
My stocks come tumbling down.
My stocks come tumbling down.
I buy on margin, don't you see,
On a great big scale, but holy gee!
And then I lose my dough-re-mi.
My stocks come tumbling down.

I bought Tin Can at a dollar and a half
And Squeaky-Squawky Phonograph
At a price that would make a donkey laugh,
So I stood to make a million.
My stocks come tumbling down.
My stocks come tumbling down.
When I listened to the ticker tick,
I figured I could get rich quick,
But a bunch of bears were too darn slick.
My stocks come tumbling down.

My bootblack boy bought Gump preferred.
He told me not to say a word.
The price of Gump was so absurd,
So I bought a thousand shares.
My stocks come tumbling down.
My stocks come tumbling down.
I met my broker on the floor.
He said: "Go on and buy some more"
But I'm broker than I was before.
My stocks come tumbling down.

[Some patter omitted]

My laundry man bought Subway Jam
And a hundred shares of Chowder Clam.
His stock went up on Amsterdam,
So he bought himself some shoestrings.
His stock came tumbling down.
His stock came tumbling down.
He jumped right in the deep blue sea.
I was scared as I could be.
I looked to see if that guy was me.
His stocks came tumbling down.

The iceman gave me a tip on coal.
He told me not to tell a soul.
He said that coal was down the hole.
I thought that was a hot one.
That stock came tumbling down.
That stock came tumbling down.
There's one thing that I won't forget:
That stock was watered, you can bet,
And now I know that stock's all wet.
My stock's come tumbling down.

Subject: Lyr Add: STARVATION BLUES (Charlie Jordan)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Oct 13 - 06:58 PM

STARVATION BLUES
As recorded by Charlie Jordan, 1931.

1. Lord, Lord, starvation is at my do'. (2x)
But it ain't no need of running, because I ain't got no place to go.

2. The grasses are dying; the rivers are dropping low. (2x)
Do you know what is the matter? Starvation is at my do'.

3. Well I used to eat cake, baby, but now I have to eat hard cornbread (2x)
And I would rather be sleeping somewhere in a graveyard dead.

4. Got more women started begging that never had to beg before. (2x)
These starvation times have drove them from their door.

5. Now I almost had a square meal the other day, (2x)
But the garbage man come and he moved the can away.

6. Now I remember one time when I had a plenty to eat, (2x)
But now the time has come, my kids find no place to sleep.

Subject: Lyr Add: CHEER UP! SMILE! NERTZ! (Eddie Cantor)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Oct 13 - 09:01 PM

CHEER UP! SMILE! NERTZ!*
Words, Norman Anthony. Music, Misha Portnoff and Wesley Portnoff, ©1931.
As recorded by Eddie Cantor

1. Sure business is punk,
And Wall Street is sunk.
We're all of us broke,
And ready to croak.
We've nothing to dunk,
Can't even get drunk,
And all the while they tell us to smile.

CHORUS: Cheer up, gentle citizens,
Though you have no shirts.
Happy days are here again.
Cheer up! Smile! Nertz!
All aboard, prosperity!
Giggle till it hurts.
No more bread-line charity!
Cheer up! Smile! Nertz!
Cheer up! Cheer up! Cheer up! Cheer up! Cheer!
Up-cheer! Up-cheer! Up-cheer! Better times are here.
Sunny smilers we must be,
The optimist asserts.
Let's hang the fathead to a tree.
Cheer up! Smile! Nertz!

2. The world's in the red.
We're better off dead.
Depression, they say,
'S in session to stay.
Our judges are queer.
Our banks disappear,
And all the while they tell us to smile. CHORUS


* Title as given in the album "The Panic is On: The Great American Depression as Seen by the Common Man." ASCAP uses the spelling "nerts." The 78-rpm Discography Project lists a record called "Ballyhoo Theme Song Cheer up." The British Library has sheet music cataloged as "Cheer up, Smile : Nerts". I believe these are all the same song.

Subject: Lyr Add: THEM GOOD OLD TIMES ARE COMING BACK...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Oct 13 - 09:50 PM

[THEM] GOOD OLD TIMES (ARE COMIN' BACK AGAIN)
Written by Bob Miller
As recorded by Dick Robertson, 1932?

Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again,
And the good old sun will shine,
And we won't have no bread line.
Oh, them good old days are comin' back again.

Oh, them good old days are comin' back again.
Oh, them good old days are comin' back again.
We won't have to break our backs
Totin' a big load on our backs.
Good old times are comin' back again.

Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
'Stead of filling up our jail,
We'll fill up our dinner pail.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.

Old depression he will go
To that place where there's no snow.

Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
We'll throw out our worn-out shoes,
Drive away the hungry blues.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.

Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
Yes, them good old times are comin' back again,
And that long-eared mule will say
To the elephant that day
That the good old times are comin' back again.

Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
Yes, them good old times are comin' back again.
We'll ride handsome wide and far
In our little touring car.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.

We'll have money in our jeans.
We'll eat more than turnip greens.

Oh, the good old times are comin' back again.
Yes, them good old times are comin' back again.
We've had misery in full,
Lived on promises and bull.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.

Yes, the good old times are comin' back again.
Yes, them good old times are comin' back again.
When we get a full belly,
We won't raise no more hell-y.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.

Yes, them good old times are comin' back again.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.
We'll sit in our easy chairs,
Not a worry nor a care.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.

We can rest our weary heads
As we sleep in feather beds.
Oh, them good old times are comin' back again.