 sj |
||
|
||
Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum
|
|
|
Subject: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 01 Jul 04 - 03:55 AM Here's a folk/folklore/classical music question. Tonight I heard a recording of Gershwin's "An American in Paris" on the radio. There's a very short theme near the beginning, that I recognized as a song my dad used to sing a short snatch of. (He was fond of singing only one or two lines from a song.) The words he sang were: "My mommy gave me a penny, to buy some chewing gum, la-la-la-la-la-la-la, do I love chewing gum." Here's an ABC file: X:1 T:Chewing Gum M:4/4 L:1/8 K:C G2|A2B2c2d d|c2B4A2|c4B4|A2G4E2|F2G2A2B2|A2G4E2|F4E4|D2C4|] My question is (well, are): did Gershwin use a popular song of the day for that tune? Did the song have anything to do with chewing gum? Or did my dad learn a children's street parody of a popular song? (That's my guess.) Or was it a children's song to begin with? I also have a very vague recollection that when my dad took me to see the movie Around the World in 80 Days (the original, with David Niven and Cantinflas), that same tune was in the soundtrack. Maybe they used the Gershwin piece in the film? By way of orientation, my dad was born in Philadelphia in 1926 (and passed away in 1991, before I ever was interested enough in this stuff to have asked him), and "An American in Paris" was composed in 1928. Can anybody provide any answers? I'd be much obliged. Aloha, Mark PS: this is NOT the Carter Family song, "Chewing Gum," which is in the DT. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,weerover Date: 01 Jul 04 - 05:16 AM My father was born just the year before yours and had exactly the same habit of singing snatches of song, anything from light opera, traditional or the poular songs of his day. I remember him singing what I think is the song you refer to: My pa give me a nickel to buy a pickle I didn't but a pickle, I bought some chewing gum Chew, chew, chew, chew, chewing gum, how I love chewing gum I didn't buy a pickle, I bought some chewing gum My pa give me a dollar to buy a collar, etc. Don't know anything about its origin but it has the feel of the 20s or 30s popular songs to me. wr. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Joe Offer Date: 01 Jul 04 - 03:00 PM Take a look at this page (click) which quotes Leonard Bernstein: "There are enough themes in An American In Paris for two symphonies." The themes from American in Paris have always intrigued me. I'd swear that many of them must be from other sources. This page quotes Gershwin:
-Joe Offer- |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Little Robyn Date: 01 Jul 04 - 03:48 PM My Ma gave me a quarter for soda water I didn't buy the water, I bought some chewing gum. I remember that song! Robyn |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Little Robyn Date: 01 Jul 04 - 03:53 PM Damn! The tune has turned into an ear worm! But it's actually from another classical piece of music that I can't quite remember........... |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Jul 04 - 09:32 PM My ma gave me a penny Papa gave me a dime My sister gave me a boyfriend That kissed me for the dime. Many variations on this street rhyme. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Jul 04 - 09:54 PM Joe, you could be right. Quoting Gershwin: "The opening gay section is followed by a rich 'blues' with a strongly rhythmic undercurrent. Our American friend, perhaps after strolling into a cafe and having a few drinks, has suddenly succumbed to a spasm of homesickness. The harmony here is both more intense and simple than in preceding pages. The 'blues' moves to a climax, followed by a coda in which the spirit of the music returns to the vivacity and bubbling exuberance of the opening part with its impressions of Paris. Apparently the homesick American, having left the cafe and reached the open air, has downed his spell of blues and once again is an alert spectator of Parisian life. At the conclusion the street noises and French atmosphere are triumphant." Deena Rosenberg, who has done a biography of the Gershwins, George and Ira. Another other statement, which you quote, was written for "Musical America" before he completed the piece; it was a work-in-progress: "The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and the Six, though the themes are all original." His major themes in the completed piece certainly are original, but little snippets of material show the 'American's' provenance as he is exposed to Paris. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 02 Jul 04 - 04:23 AM OK, so far I've discovered that the song is "Choo'n Gum" by Vic Mizzy and Mann Curtis, recorded by, among others, the Andrews Sisters, Dean Martin, Teresa Brewer, and Maria Muldaur. I do remember that my dad used that "odd" pronunciation of "chewing gum" when he sang the lines. I haven't found an MP3 yet, but, assuming that the tune is the same, Mizzy must have picked it up from somewhere, since Gershwin used it in 1928. Curiouser and curiouser... Aloha, Mark |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 02 Jul 04 - 04:28 AM Found a brief MP3 snippet of Dean Martin's version here (scroll down), and it is the same tune. My guess is that Mizzy borrowed the tune from an older source, and that Gershwin did too. So what's the source? Aloha, Mark |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,JGB Date: 02 Jul 04 - 12:15 PM I have a kid's tape with the song on it - "My mom gave me a nickle to buy a pickle, I didn't buy a pickle, I bought some chewing gum. My aunt gave me a quarter, for soda water, I didn't buy the water, I bought some chewing gum. My Dad gave me a dollar to buy a collar, You should of heard him holler, when I bought some chewing gum. Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew chewing gum How I love chewing gum I'm crazy over chewing gum, I chew and chew all day." There's more, too. JGB |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 03 Jul 04 - 05:01 AM Yes, that's certainly the song from the 40's, but where in the 20's (or earlier) did it come from, for Gershwin to find it and put it into "An American in Paris"? Come on, somebody out there in Mudcatland must have an answer! Aloha, Mark |
|
Subject: Lyr Add: CHEWIN' GUM (from Ella Fitzgerald) From: Jim Dixon Date: 03 Jul 04 - 06:19 PM There's a sound sample of this song at Barnes & Noble Lyrics copied from http://www.lyricsbox.com/ella-fitzgerald-lyrics-chewin-gum-4w339v2.html, but I fixed some mistakes. CHEWIN' GUM Fitzgerald/Innemee/Peterson Recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 1940. I don't like steaks or fancy cake. I'm cold to ice cream too. I have just one obsession: I really love to chew. Lollipops and chocolate drops have no effect on me, But when I have some chewin' gum, I'm as happy as can be. My mama gave me a penny to buy some candy. I didn't want the candy so I bought some chewin' gum. (Oh, yum, yum, yum!) I love my gum. My mama gave me a nickel to buy a pickle. I didn't want a pickle so I bought some chewin' gum. (Oh, yum, yum, yum!) I bought some gum. Each time I find myself with a guy, I hurry to the store, 'Cause the boy who sells me chewin' gum is the one that I adore My mama gave me a quarter for soda water. I know I had an order, but I bought some chewin' gum. |
|
Subject: Lyr Add: CHOO'N GUM (from Dean Martin) From: Jim Dixon Date: 03 Jul 04 - 06:36 PM There's a sound sample of this at Barnes & Noble, too: Lyrics copied from http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/dean_martin/choon_gum.html - CHOO'N GUM Curtis/Mizzy My mom gave me a nickel to buy a pickle, But I didn't buy a pickle. I bought some choo'n gum. CHORUS1: Chew, chew, chew choo'n gum, how I love choo'n gum! Well, I'm crazy over choo'n gum. I chew, chew, chew. My aunt gave me a quarter for soda water, But I didn't buy no water. I bought some choo'n gum. CHORUS2: Chew, chew, chew choo'n gum, how I love choo'n gum! Well, I'm crazy over choo'n gum. What can I do? I chew all day, the way it seems. I'm even blowing bubbles in my dreams. My pop gave me a dollar to buy a collar. Well, you should have heard him holler when I bought choo'n gum. CHORUS1 [As recorded by Dean Martin, 1950. Also recorded by The Andrews Sisters and by Teresa Brewer.] |
|
Subject: Lyr Add: BUBBLE GUM (camp song) From: Jim Dixon Date: 03 Jul 04 - 06:37 PM From a page of camp songs: www.mastuco.net/camp/energizers.doc BUBBLE GUM My mother gave me a penny to see Jack Benny. I did not see Jack Benny. I bought some bubble gum. CHORUS: Na, na, na, na, na, bubble gum! Na, na, na, na, na, bubble gum! Na, na, na, na, na, bubble gum! I bought some bubble gum! My mother gave me a nickel to buy a pickle. I did not buy a pickle. I bought some bubble gum. CHORUS My mother gave me a dime to buy a lime. I did not buy a lime. I bought some bubble gum! CHORUS My mother gave me a quarter to pay the porter. I did not pay the porter. I bought some bubble gum! CHORUS My mother gave me a dollar to buy a collar. I did not buy a collar. I bought some bubble gum! CHORUS My mother gave me a spanking for buying all that bubble gum. I did not cry a tear. I cried bubble gum! * * * At http://www.pasc.net/act_resour/sb/tsld009.htm there is another version of the above song where the chorus is: Aruba ruba, bubble gum, aruba ruba, bubble gum, Aruba ruba, bubble gum, I bought some bubble gum. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 08 Jul 04 - 02:17 AM Jim, thanks for finding those. HOWEVER...at the risk of pummeling a defunct equine, that doesn't answer my original question. I know there was a song called "Choo'n Gum" that was written by Mann Curtis and Vic Mizzy, and was recorded by Dean Martin and Teresa Brewer and the Andrews Sisters, around 1950. But the tune to the chorus of this song shows up in Gershwin's "An American in Paris" which was written in 1928. It's clearly intended to represent a popular American tune of the day. So...does anybody know where Gershwin got that tune? Aloha, Mark |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Joe Offer Date: 08 Jul 04 - 03:56 AM ...and as I said above, Gershwin said all the themes in American in Paris are original. Could it be that the tune for "Choo'n Gum" comes from Gershwin? It's a catchy, French-sounding tune that could easily be thought to be a traditional French tune - you know, like that old German folk song, "Edelweiss"...(the one that was written in New York). Sometimes people correct my pronunciation on that one and tell me I should say, "Idle-wise." -Joe Offer- |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 08 Jul 04 - 05:51 AM Could be, Joe. But, to quote a well-known musical maven: "The themes from American in Paris have always intrigued me. I'd swear that many of them must be from other sources...[Gershwin said 'the themes are all original']...but I still think that not all the themes in the piece can be original." I agree. Aloha, Mark
-Joe Offer- |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,Norval Date: 09 Jul 04 - 12:53 AM I stumbled on a tune like the chewin' gum melody in an old FAKE book under the title LA SORELLA. A little internet digging gave me the following information. The march La Sorella is by the French popular composer Charles Borel-Clerc (1879-1959), although the melody was borrowed from an earlier Spanish popular song, La Mattchiche. Mark, could this be the answer you seek? |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,Gerry Date: 09 Jul 04 - 01:49 AM Sorry, can't answer the original question, just a couple of notes: 1. The song, with verses, appeared in some movie musical, though I think this was in the 30s or 40s, hence, after Gershwin. 2. As kids in New York City, circa 1960, my buddies and I added a verse, My Ma gave me a dollar/To buy a challah.... |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 09 Jul 04 - 05:14 AM Mahalo a nui loa, Norval--that's it! The tune is "La Sorella", by Charles Borel-Clerc, written in 1909. This site, Classical Archives Forum, which seems like it's run by quite a knowledgeable musician, includes a link to a MIDI, under the name "cancan-x" (scroll down). That must be the one you found, because it also mentions that it's based on the Spanish song "La Mattchiche." However, from what I've been able to determine, "La Mattchiche" is a French song about a racy dance called "La Mattchiche" or "Maxixe", perhaps similar to the cancan. There's a site here that includes a brief audio file of "La Mattchiche", but my French isn't good enough to translate the words. Still, it appears that Gershwin took the theme from a popular French song (so much for his claim that the themes were all original!), and I imagine that Vic Mizzy heard either "La Sorella"/"La Mattchiche" or "An American in Paris" and borrowed the tune for "Choo'n Gum." Mystery solved! Thanks again to the Mudcat. Aloha, Mark PS, I have a vague memory of my high school girlfriend's mother working on a political campaign for someone named Norval Reece in Philadelphia in 1970. Any connection? |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,Norval Date: 09 Jul 04 - 10:41 PM Off Topic to Mark: No connection to Norval Reece. Norval seems to be a rather uncommon old English name, a contraction of North Valley. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,Gerry Date: 13 Jul 04 - 01:17 AM For what it's worth, I found the Hollywood musical that had Choo'n Gum. It was Mother Wore Tights, 20th Century Fox, 1947. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: JJ Date: 13 Jul 04 - 10:05 AM I recall reading a blow-by-blow account of the journey taken in "An American in Paris" which said something like, "At this point our hero passes a cafe where, if the trombones are to be believed, 'La Maxixe' is still popular." Is this what Mark is looking for? |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Cool Beans Date: 13 Jul 04 - 12:17 PM Anyone seen the current Broadway revival of "Wonderful Town?" Leonard Bernstein upholds the tradition of appropriating existing tunes, having taken "Haste to the Wedding" for the melody of "My Darlin' Eileen." |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 13 Jul 04 - 01:09 PM JJ is correct. In the theme with the taxi horns-sounds of Paris, there are a couple of 4-5 note excerpts from popular marches (just enough to allow recognition), often heard at that time in France. These by no means constitute a "theme." "An American in Paris" was a strikingly original piece at its time, and is a landmark in composition. Gershwin went to a parts store in Paris and bought auto horns so that he could properly transcribe their sound to instruments in the orchestra. "Sorella-Maxixe-Mattchiche," sheet music generally sold under the last name, is still a popular march, particularly in Latin America, and, along with "Zacatecas," is played ad nauseum. One's brain becomes infected with these tunes. Sheet music is readily available for bands in a number of editions. If there was a "traditional Spanish song" as a predecessor, I have been unable to find lyrics. It may have been a dance tune, or a compound of several tunes. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,R.Lewis Date: 18 Sep 04 - 04:02 PM If JJ is correct and the tune really is the one he mentions it all works out since the Choo'n Gum theme is played by two trombones at no.11 in the orchestral score. I posted this very question on the Gershwin Fanpage forum earlier today so I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one to be bugged by the similarity! |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 18 Sep 04 - 08:28 PM As I recall--and I'm not going back to check it--someone said above that the "all themes original" comment was made before the composition was done, or at least completed. Seems to me it's possible that was a statement of his intent at the time, and that he modified his approach a little in the execution. Dave Oesterreich |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,R.Lewis Date: 19 Sep 04 - 04:26 PM I don't think that various brief motifs used by Gershwin to give "flavor" to the piece take away from his claim of originality for his (main) themes. He also used some Cuban folksong material in his Cuban Overture and Berstein's song Maria can be traced to a Zarzuela song. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Mark Cohen Date: 19 Sep 04 - 04:38 PM I agree with R. Lewis. Joe, you're vindicated! Aloha, Mark |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,R.Lewis Date: 21 Sep 04 - 12:21 AM I watched the ballet section from AiP this evening and noticed that Saul Chaplin used the Mattchiche much more than Gershwin did in the original. Chaplin used it as a sort of motif everytime the pompiers double-timed through and they in turn seemed to be a sort of constant that appeared in every scene. Also, Hugh Fordin (in his book The World of Entertainment) says there are seven La Sorella in the piece by various composers. That's something I want to track down next. |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,Shawn Date: 19 Feb 07 - 04:05 AM I remember my mother, many years ago, used to sing part of a song to the (exact) tune of "Choo'n Gum". The very few words I remember are: "I met her at the bullfight, the Spanish bullfight........................" This would have been a 30s or 40s song. Can anybody remember it? |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: Azizi Date: 18 Jun 07 - 12:29 PM "However, from what I've been able to determine, "La Mattchiche" is a French song about a racy dance called "La Mattchiche" or "Maxixe", perhaps similar to the cancan"-Mark Cohne; 09 Jul 04 - 05:14 AM Somewhat off topic, here's some information about the Maxixe: "The maxixe (pron. IPA: [maˈʃiʃi]), occasionally known as the Brazilian tango, is a dance, with its accompanying music, that originated in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1868, at about the same time as the tango was developing in neighbouring Argentina and Uruguay. It is an Afro-Brazilian dance developed by black slaves of Chopi blood from Maxixe, Mozambique. Like the tango, the maxixe travelled to Europe and the United States in the early years of the twentieth century. The music was influenced by various other forms including the tango, lundu, polka and habanera, and is danced to a rapid 2/4 time. The maxixe was one of the dances that contributed to the samba and lambada." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxixe_(dance) -snip- Also, here's an excerpt from what I consider to be an excellent online resource on the origin/history of Latin-American dances -though I don't agree with the authors' opinions on the etymology of the dance name Maxixe: History Of Latin-American Dancing "The Portuguese imported many slaves from Angola and Congo into Brazil in the 16th century, who in turn brought their dances such as the Caterete, the Embolada and the Batuque (Raffe, 1964, 313). These dances were considered sinful by the Europeans as they involved the touching of navels (Sadie, 1980, 10/47). The Embolada is about a cow with balls on its horns for safety, and became a term meaning 'foolish' (Michaelis, 1955, 281). The Batuque became so popular that Manuel I passed a law forbidding it (Raffe, 1964,60). It was described as a circle dance with steps like the Charleston done to hand clapping and percussion, and with a solo couple performing in the centre of the circle (Raffe, 1964, 60). A composite dance evolved in the 1830's combining the plait figures from these Negro dances and the body rolls and sways of the indigenous Lundu (Behague, 1979,93). Later, carnival steps were added like the Copacabana (named after a popular beach near Rio de Janeiro). Gradually members of the high society in Rio embraced it, although they modified it to be done in closed ballroom dancing position (which they knew was the only correct way to dance anything) (Ellfeldt, 1974,77). The dance was then called the Zemba Queca, and was described in 1885 as "a graceful Brazilian dance" (Burchfield, 1976, III/1466). This was later called the 'Mesemba'. The origin of the name 'Samba' is unclear: perhaps it is a corruption of Semba, although another suggestion is that is derived from Zambo which means the offspring of a Negro man and a native woman (Taylor, 1958,648). The dance was later combined with the Maxixe (Raffe, 1964,438). This was also originally Brazilian: a round dance described as like a Two Step (Burchfield, 1976, II/865), and named after the prickly fruit of a Cactus, although now the word is used in Portuguese to denote a gherkin. The Maxixe dance was introduced into the U.S.A. at the turn of the 20th century (Stetson 1956,30). It became popular in Europe after a demonstration in Paris in the early twentieth century. It was described as having the steps of the Polka done to the music of the Cuban Habanera (Chicago, 1985, 7/968). The present day Samba still contains a step called the Maxixe, consisting of a chasse and point (Romain, 1982,19)". http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~don/pubs/latin.html **** Btw, I have started a thread on versions of the song/rhyme Bazooka Zooka Bubble Gum and included a link to this thread. thread.cfm?threadid=102593&messages=1 Thanks! |
|
Subject: RE: Penny to buy chewing gum/Gershwin? From: GUEST,JTT Date: 22 Sep 07 - 05:24 AM BBC Radio 4 has an item called something like The Ancestry Tapes, when a famous person names the song they inherited from their people, and the song they'll pass down. Rhea Perlman was on this morning and she played Choo'n Gum, laughing and singing along delightfully the whole way, with memories of happy Sundays in her gran's. (Her pass-down tape was Alfalfa singing I'm in the Mood for Love, by the way.) I think it may have been the Teresa Brewer version, but I'm not sure. Anyone know where there are audio clips of it? |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: GUEST,john Date: 09 Jun 12 - 09:18 AM My ma gave me a nickle to buy a pickle, I didn't buy the pickle, I bought some chewin' gum. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: John MacKenzie Date: 09 Jun 12 - 09:52 AM The feature is called My Inhertance Tracks, and is a feature of Saturday Live on Radio4. Didn't hear it today, I don't listen any more since Fi Glover left, and was replaced by a boring Reverend. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: GUEST,Peter Kemp Date: 17 Feb 13 - 07:03 AM The tune appropriated for "I love chewin' gum" (lyric: "My ma gave me a nickle to buy a pickle, / I didn't buy the pickle, I bought some chewin' gum.") is by Louis Gallini and it comes from his purely orchestral march "La Sorella". I'm unsure when it was composed, but recordings exist on the American Victor label from March 1906. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: GUEST Date: 02 Mar 13 - 09:46 PM It's also used in the background music of the 1956 film "Around the World In 80 Days." |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: Allan C. Date: 23 Jun 16 - 07:33 PM Didn't June Carter (whose birthday is today) perform a song about gum? Was it a version of the Choo'n Gum song mentioned above or was it another? |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: Allan C. Date: 23 Jun 16 - 07:38 PM Never mind. Found the answer https://youtu.be/g-n7RwGfnn8 |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: GUEST,My memory Date: 11 Jan 21 - 02:25 PM Two different movies of the 1950,s featured this song sung by Children. One was a young girl swinging and playing in a park and the other was children of a stage star on a train on the way to their grandmothers. They were entertaining the passengers. I have been searching for this movie for many years |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Chewing Gum / Choo'n Gum / Bubble Gum From: GUEST,Steven Black Date: 18 Apr 22 - 02:51 AM My mother would sing this song and the way I remember it : My ma gave me a quarter for soda water I din't want no water I wanted chewing gum Chewing gum chew chewing gum |
| Share Thread: |