Lyr Add: The Band Played On (Palmer, Ward)

Subject: Strawberry blond--and the band played on
From: Jeep man
Date: 01 Apr 00 - 04:51 PM

Would someone out there in Mudcat Land have the chords for this good old song? I intend to play it on 5 string so I need the chords in G or C. Thanks in Advance. Jim

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Strawberry blond--and the ban
From: The Beanster
Date: 01 Apr 00 - 06:48 PM

Jeep man,

Found that this song is in the public domain. Here is a sheet music site where you can print out the music. When you go to this page, you'll have to click on each one in order to enlarge it and then you can print them out. Only 4 pages, though, so it's not too much of a pain (!) Click here: THE BAND PLAYED ON

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Strawberry blond--and the ban
From: The Beanster
Date: 01 Apr 00 - 06:57 PM

Sorry about that link--I knew it looked suspicious! Let's try this again. When you get to the home page, go to "Search Collection," and then on the search page, enter "The Band Played On" into that first search box and it'll come up. Click here

(I sure hope this link works)

Subject: guitar chords 'And the Band Played On'
From: Jeep man
Date: 14 Apr 00 - 07:02 PM

Surely someone in Mudcatland can help. I know the tune but I would like to strum it and sing with my guitar. Please help the Jeepman.

Subject: RE: guitar chords 'And the Band Played On'
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Apr 00 - 07:13 PM

Got them too, see Whispering

Subject: RE: guitar chords 'And the Band Played On'
From: Marion
Date: 17 Apr 00 - 12:09 PM

Jeepman, these are the chords suggested in Rise Up Singing. I've never tried this song myself, and I know sometimes the RUS chords are a little iffy, but it should give you a start.

C - - -
G - - -
G - - -
C - - -
C G7 C7 F
F - Dm -
Dm F#dim C Am
D7 G C -

Good luck, Marion

Subject: RE: guitar chords 'And the Band Played On'
From: Sorcha
Date: 17 Apr 00 - 05:50 PM

Everybody I know plays it in C, but he wanted it in G, so here is what I sent him--feel free to correct, as I am not a "chorder":
Band Played on is harder, and I am not sure I have it all right. Ragtime does some weird things, so go slow, and play with somebody who really knows the melody for a while. Here is the whole thing, starting with verses: (A lot of people only play the chorus)
In G, 4/4 time:
G C7 C D G(hall)
G C7 C C A (ball)
Em G Em D7 F#
G(Casey) C F#m (change to 3/4 time), bridge to Chorus:
D D D7 Chorus:
G D7 G(band) D7(loaded) G7(nearly)
C7(exploded) Am(poor) Cm(with alarm)
Emdim(girl) G Em A7 D7 A
These are close enough to get you started I think. I did check out a couple other keys for "Band" and none of them are all EZ chords because of the accidentals in the melody line.

Subject: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: GUEST,Jeep Man (Lost my cookie)
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 02:06 PM

I have all the words to this and know the tune, but as you know I am talent deprived. I need chords I can play on my D18. Jeep

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 02:17 PM

As in the Moxy Fruvous song???

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: Sorcha
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 02:27 PM

In A........
(sey)A / (beat)D7 / (style)D
(hire) E / (hall)A / (pay) A /
(greased)D7 / (wax) D /
(vig-)D / (Sat)F#m / (Sun) A / (clothes)F#m/
(lad) E7 / (side)G# / (Ca) A
(all) D (their) G#m

Chorus:
(For) E / (sey) A / (band) E7 /
(band) A / (loaded) E7 / (nearly) A7/ (plo-ded) D7
(poor) Bm / 9 (a-[larm]) F#m (larm)Bm /
(girl) F#dim / (straw) A / (curls) F#m /
(band) B7 / (played) E7 /(on) A

(they are pretty wicked chords to figure out!)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: Dani
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 02:29 PM

...as in "Casey"?

RUS lists them like so:

C---/G---/----/C---

CG7C7F/--Dm-/-F#dimCAm/D7GC-

I don't play (guitar) so don't know if this helps.

Dani

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: Dani
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 02:33 PM

...as in "Casey"?

RUS lists them like so:

C---/G---/----/C---

CG7C7F/--Dm-/-F#dimCAm/D7GC-

I don't play (guitar) so don't know if this helps.

Dani

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 02:59 PM

This is good. Thanks to both of you. Dani, where can I find the chords you refer to? Jeep

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: Sorcha
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 03:31 PM

RUS is Rise Up Singing, Jim. Popular song book.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: Dani
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 04:24 PM

I HATE when people use acronyms they think I should know. Sorry for that, Jim!

Dani

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 06:49 PM

Thanks to you both again. I will keep you updated on progress. Jim

Subject: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Just Amy
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 08:43 PM

I've had this song in my head all day and I have a question about the lyrics if anyone can help. The chorus of "The Band Played On" says:

His Brain was so loaded it nearly exploded
The poor girl she shook with alarm
He'd marry the girl with the strawberry curl
And the band played on

Okay, so what was his brain loaded with? I don't think it was alcohol because that is not how the song reads. Why did the girl shake? And why oh why did she marry him? Does anyone have a clue what this song means.

Thanks, Amy

---

Click for lyrics in the Digital Tradition

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 11:44 PM

G'day Amy,

A good question ... one that has bothered me - without any good answer - some some time.

It does, however, remind me of a cartoon by an ascerbic Australian cartoonist:

A man declares to a woman: "When I saw you across the room, my heart went 'Boom'!" ... and she replies" "Well, if you think I'm going to marry a man with a congenital heart defect - think again!"

(Er .. I do hope some has a better explanation for you.)

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Sonja
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 11:51 PM

Amy, your lyrics are, in part, a mondegreen.  The original song, as I have seen it printed in very old books, was:

Casey would waltz with the strawberry blonde(s)
And the band played on.
He'd [roll?] 'round the floor with the girl(s) he adored,
And the band played on.
His brain was so loaded he nearly exploded;
The poor girl(s) would shake with alarm.
He'd ne'er leave the girl(s) with the strawberry curls
And the band played on.
 
 

Sometimes the lyrics refer to one "girl," sometimes to "girls," but it's always "He'd ne'er leave...,"  not "He married... ".

As to what he was loaded on, I'm not sure.  I'll try to dig up the whole song to see if there's a clue.
 

~SWO~

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Genie
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 12:44 AM

From the DT: click here.

Back when this song was written, you could legally get heroin and morphine and cocaine at the druggists's--not to mention ETOH--so who knows what he was loaded on? Could've been the dancing, even. Doesn' seem like the song says.

Maybe someone knows the song's history--if there is one.

Genie

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,ozmacca
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 02:05 AM

Maybe loaded is an abbreviation - as in OVERloaded... presumably with emotion about the girl - Don't read too much into what could be a simple little song about simple folks. It may have been available but not everybody was, or is, into the narcotic scene.

What always intrigued me was the bit about "strawberry blonde". Last time I looked, them strawberries were red!

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: masato sakurai
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 03:02 AM

The sheet music at the Levy.

~Masato

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: greg stephens
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 04:17 AM

yes, what is a strawberry blonde? Is it just with a hint of red in it, like a strawberry starting to ripen?

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Hrothgar
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 06:28 AM

I always thought his brain was loaded with thoughts of love etc. Maybe I'm just naive.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Joe_F
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 08:50 AM

The OED says "applied to hair of a light reddish blond colour" & gives quotations ranging from 1884 to 1977, including (1895) this song.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 08:52 AM

Greg Stevens -

Pink blond, rather than yellow or white blond. Sandra

The Oxford Dictionary agrees with us both - 1. pinkish blond hair, 2 a woman with such hair.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Genie
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 11:08 AM

ozmacca, I'd tend to agree about the "loaded" line. I'm told that a lot of folks back then were 'addicted' to narcotics, in much the same way many people are now 'addicted' to caffeine or nicotine. I.e., they used a narcotic daily, but not in high enough doses to interfere noticeably with their functioning. There's no reason to infer that Casey was out of his gourd from narcotics--or even alcohol. Just "high on life," perhaps.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Just Amy
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 05:01 PM

FYI - the words I used were the ones my mother sang to me (folk tradition). Strawberry blonde is blonde with red highlights or as mentioned above.

So nobody knows why this girl would not leave this guy. I don't know why he sounds like a serial killer but .....

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Argenine
Date: 28 Jun 02 - 09:02 PM

Actually, Amy, the lyrics say HE wouldn't leave the girl, not the other way around. (Yeah, they did eventually marry.)

Anyway, he sounds more like a serial womanizer, to me.

Arge

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Haruo
Date: 29 Jun 02 - 01:04 AM

That's one of the problems with legalizing drugs, Genie, it makes addicts think they can get away with using relatively small amounts, which is not good either for the import business or for law enforcement.

Liland

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Genie
Date: 29 Jun 02 - 04:30 AM

Which is why alcohol and prescription drugs like prozac, valium, etc., aren't legal, either. Oh, wait ....

Genie

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Jeep man
Date: 27 Feb 03 - 08:29 PM

I have always loved this old song but never played or sung it. Would someone help me with the tune and simple chords for the verse and chorus? I have the sheet music and the lyrics from the DT, but the MIDI won't play. Jeep

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Cluin
Date: 28 Feb 03 - 01:18 AM

Sure...

[G]Casey got [Gmaj7]hit with a [G6]bucket of [G]shit

and the [D7]band [Am7]played [D7]on

He waltzed round the [Am7]floor and got [D7]hit with some more

and the [G]band played on

His balls were so [D7]loaded, they [G7]nearly ex[C]ploded

the [E7]poor girl, she shook with a[Am]larm

He [C]married the [C#dim]bitch with the [G]seven [B7]year [Em]itch

and the [A7]band [D7]played [G]on

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Dave Williams
Date: 28 Feb 03 - 12:36 PM

This tune was used as the basis for "The Strawberry Blonde" (1941) with James Cagney, Olivia DeHaviland, Jack Carson, and Rita Hayworth. It was recorded by the Jesters on Decca at the time, backed by another oldie "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean" which had be resurrected for "Ziegfeld Girl", also 1941 with James Stewart, Judy Garland, and Rita Hayworth.

Strawberry Blonde here: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0034236

Casey's brain was loaded with passion, and the "poor girl" like any "good" girl in 1895 would have shaken "with alarm". Or, at least pretended to! ;-)

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Dave Williams
Date: 28 Feb 03 - 12:39 PM

Whoops! That should have said James Stewart, Judy Garland, and Lana Turner. Hedy Lamar was in it (Ziegfeld Girl) too. Judy is supposed to be the daughter of Ed Gallagher.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From:
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 03:23 PM

can anyone tell me when this song became popular (the decade?) and what country it's origins are?

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: mack/misophist
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 05:45 PM

My mother was of the generation that sang this song in the parlor and she would have agreed with Hrothgar and Dave Williams. Yes, dope was legal and was included in a lot of preparations but most people shunned it. I once saw a study that claimed that the per centage of users, then and now has remained about the same.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,Frankham
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 06:44 PM

Hi,

In this time of complete honesty and directness regarding sex, it's hard to imagine a time when just to look at a pretty girl would excite beyond reason. It's a romantic Victorian notion and is in keeping with the period of the song. Misophist and Hrothgar I believe have it right.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Aug 03 - 08:39 AM

I agree that Casey's "brain" was loaded with romantic passion, sexual energy, whatever you want to call it--but maybe "brain" was a euphemism (unconscious Freudian symbolism, whatever) for some other engorged part of the anatomy that couldn't be mentioned in 1895. That would explain everything, wouldn't it?

Frank Hamilton: Yes, and Casey didn't merely look at a pretty girl; he danced with her, with his arm around her waist. The waltz was considered a scandalously sexy dance when it first appeared because it involved closer bodily contact than just holding hands. (I don't have an exact date for that but my encyclopedia says, "The waltz was introduced into the US in the 19th cent.")

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 05 Aug 03 - 10:16 AM

Jim, I was just thinking the same thing while I was reading the previous posts ... "Is that a brain in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

I remember asking Mom what a SB was when I was little, and I've been looking out for ione ever since (about fifty years!). I saw one yesterday! Very long hair, quite a pretty colour, and natural,as far as I could tell. I couldn't make up my mind whether to burst into "Pretty Woman", but she walked off, so it had to be "Girl from Ipanema". But that's two other stories.

Steve

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Aug 03 - 11:19 AM

I'm another one who has made my own inferences, so that I don't like the song. I know it's not what the song says but I keep feeling it's talking about an abusive-when-drunk guy. And I know it doesn't say 'harm' but that's how it feeds into my brain, i.e. :

'His head was so loaded it nearly exploded
The poor girl would shake with alarm
(But) he'd ne'er harm the girl with the strawberry curls
And the band, etc.'

and yes, I agree; I'm putting my own spin on it.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From:
Date: 05 Aug 03 - 11:36 AM

Oh, COME ON now!

It's just a cute little waltzing song. It's not about drug abuse or date rape or sweat-pants boners or anything rude. It's got a nice catchy little melody and some lines that fit the tune. That's all.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: SINSULL
Date: 05 Aug 03 - 12:11 PM

My take too, Cluin. I always pictured a big Irish cop glowing from a beer or two and enthusiastically waltzing a petite little blonde around the floor who feared being pushed into a table or another couple. Just a happy carefree song.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BAND PLAYED ON (Palmer, Ward)
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Aug 03 - 08:26 PM

While the chorus is well know, the verse(s) apparently are not. Perhaps the full text will help some who've made up the more bizarre interpretations:

From The Levy Collection, as linked by masato sakurai 27 Jun 02 - 03:02 AM

THE BAND PLAYED ON
Words by John F. Palmer
Music by Chas. B. Ward
Published by The New-York Music Company

Matt Casey formed a social club that beat the town for style,
And hired for a meeting place a hall.
When payday came around each week they greased the floor with wax,
And danced with noise and vigor at the ball.

Each Saturday you'd see them dressed up in Sunday clothes,
Each lad would have his sweetheart by his side
When Casey led the first grand march they all would fall in line,
Behind the man who was their joy and pride – For

CHORUS
Casey would waltz with the strawberry blonde,
And the band played on
He'd glide cross the floor with the girl he adored
And the band played on
But his brain was so loaded it nearly exploded,
The poor girl would shake with alarm
He'd ne'er leave the girl with the strawberry curl
And the band played on.

Such kissing in the corner and such whisp'ring in the hall,
And telling tales of love behind the stairs
As Casey was the favorite and he that ran the ball
Of kissing and love making did his share,

At twelve o-clock exactly they all would fall in line,
Then march down to the dining hall and eat
But Casey would not join them although everything was fine
But he stayed upstairs and exercised his feet – For

CHORUS

Now when the dance was over and the band played home sweet home
They played a tune at Casey's own request,
He thanked them very kindly for the favors they had shown,
The he'd waltz once with the girl that he loved best.

Most all the friends are married that Casey used to know,
And Casey too has taken him a wife.
The blond he used to waltz and glide with on the ball room floor,
Is happy misses Casey now for life, - For

CHORUS

A copyright date appears on the first page, but is illegible in the Levy image.

John

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Aug 03 - 12:29 AM

John in Kansas: I think your lyrics are identical to the ones in the DT, aren't they?

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: GUEST,cranky yankee
Date: 06 Aug 03 - 01:10 AM

Bravo John in Kansas. You just saved me the trouble of posting the three verses.
I do this song occasionally. I sing the first verse and then ask, Does anyone know where it goes from here"? I seldom get an answer and if I do it's from someone who's heard me do it before.
I like the way the meter changes.

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 06 Aug 03 - 04:28 PM

Jim D. -

Yes, the verses at Levy are the same as in the DT. Seemed to me that everyone was trying to "anal-ize" the lyric just from the chorus, so I thought that maybe having the whole thing in front of them in the thread would be helpful.

Sort of like the blind men and the elephant, but nobody wants to touch anything but the tail - and they still can't agree on what the critter is.

cranky - I think you'd get me most times if you just sang the verse. Everyone seems to know the chorus, but the "story part" never seems to come up. Sort of like always hearing the punchline and not knowing the joke.

John

Subject: RE: The Band Played On lyric question
From: Joe_F
Date: 06 Aug 03 - 06:53 PM

According to the OED, an art dictionary in 1825 had the entry:

_Waltz_, in Music, the name of a riotous and indecent German dance.

H. L. Mencken, somewhere, had words to the effect: What is the point of banning pornography when the waltz is still legal?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Band Played On (Palmer, Ward)
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 May 11 - 10:56 PM

I love this place. This tune just pooped into my head tonight. I remember my parents playing and singing it a lot. How fun to read the lyrics and info. Thanks, Mudcatters AND DT!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Band Played On (Palmer, Ward)
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 04 May 11 - 11:32 PM

A snatch from this, and also of Take Me Out To The Ball Game, was interpolated into Disney's cartoon version of Thayer's 1880s poem, Casey At The Bat

++Wiki:There have been two animated film adaptations of the poem by Walt Disney: "Casey at the Bat" (1946), which uses the original text (but set in 1902 according to the opening song's lyrics, instead of 1888). This version is recited by Jerry Colonna++

which IIRC was part of Disney's Make Mine Music compilation, along with such classics as the Andrews Sisters' Johnny Fedora & Alice Blue Bonnet, & Willie The Whale.

~Michael~