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21 Jun 08 - 03:31 AM (#2371261) Subject: Lyr Add: COHEN OWES ME 97 DOLLARS (Irving Berlin) From: Genie A dear friend of mine, who passed on in 1998, used to sing me this song. I had it saved on my voice mail and hoped to keep (and learn) it, but somehow it got erased. Later I learned that the song was written sometime around 1920 (I think) by Irving Berlin and the title was not "Old Man Rosenthal" but "Cohen Owes Me Ninety-Seven Dollars." I found the words long ago but could not quite recall all the tune. Thank heaven for YouTube! Here are the lyrics: COHEN OWES ME NINETY-SEVEN DOLLARS (Irving Berlin) [1st verse:] Old man Rosenthal lay sick in bed. Soon the doctor came around and said, "No use crying, the man is dying. He can't live very long!" "Send my son here to my side," they heard the old man say "I've got something to tell him before I pass away." Soon his son was sitting by his bed "What's the matter, Papa dear?" he said The old man said, "My son, before my days are done I want you to know": [Refrain:] "Cohen owes me ninety-seven dollars And it's up to you to see that Cohen pays. I sold a lot of goods to Rosenstein and Sons On an I.O.U. for ninety days. Levi brothers don't get any credit, They owe me for one hundred yards of lace. If you promise me, my son, you'll collect from ev'ryone, I can die with a smile upon my face." [2nd verse:] Old man Rosenthal is better now. He just simply wouldn't die somehow . He is healthy and very wealthy since he got out of bed. Such a change you never saw, he's got such rosy cheeks He picked up in just one week what should take weeks and weeks. Ev'ryone who knew that he was sick Couldn't tell how he got well so quick. They went and asked him to explain how he pulled through And Rosenthal replied: [2nd refrain:] "Cohen owed me ninety-seven dollars And my son went out and made poor Cohen pay. A bill was owed to me by Rosenstein and Sons And they settled on that very day. What could my son do with all that money If I should leave it all and say goodbye? It's all right to pass away, but when people start to pay That's no time for a businessman to die!" Watch and listen to it sung by Joe Fontana or by Janet Klein. |
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23 Jun 08 - 11:00 AM (#2372509) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Berlin) From: GUEST,leeneia Thanks for the link, Genie. That's delightful! |
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26 Jun 08 - 11:35 AM (#2374845) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Berlin) From: Jim Dixon You can see the sheet music at The Indiana University Sheet Music Collections. |
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26 Jun 08 - 12:41 PM (#2374908) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berl From: John on the Sunset Coast I have had the great, good fortune to see Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys perform...where she did this song. It is a fun act. Many of the songs she performs, all from the the early 20th century, are pretty much non-PC. |
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27 Jun 08 - 11:10 AM (#2375603) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berlin) From: GUEST,leeneia I sent the link to the video to my sister-in-law, who sings with the symphony chorus, and she loved it. Everybody who ever dreamed of singing a song to an audience should watch that video. Jane is a pro! Every movement she makes is right. She handles the microphone beautifully. Her clothes, her hair, her expressions are all under her control and they are right for the song and the audience. And the audience loves her. You could probably do a PH D dissertation in linguistics on the vowels and intonation in that performance. As singers, my sis-in-law and I agreed that the vowels are fascinating. As for 'PC,' the song was written by a Jewish guy about a Jewish family. What's not to be PC? |
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27 Jun 08 - 06:20 PM (#2375847) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berl From: John on the Sunset Coast Guest.leeneia--You misunderstand me. First of all, I was referring to her repertoire overall. As I said, the songs are pretty much from the early part of the 20th century, when Jews, Irish, Negroes (to use the then polite term)and others, were caricatured in musical theater. These songs reflected their experiences, and were sung in dialect or or with stereotype accents. Sensibilities change. Today, for instance, nobody would get up on stage ala Jolson or Cantor and cork-up to sing. Ethnic jokes for the most part are verboten, especially using accents. I am Philistine enough to enjoy good ethnic humor, accent, stereotype and all (but I can do w/out the blackface unless it is part of an historical play or such); it sounds as if you do too. But many people do get offended, and I merely alluded to that. |
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08 Sep 08 - 10:35 AM (#2434090) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berl From: Genie John, you're right about a lot of the Tin Pan Alley songs being not PC. ("Negroes" might have been considered non-PC by some then; the term "darkies" was considered a euphemism by some, and was even used in songs like "That's Why God Made Darkies.") But I digress. As for this Berlin song being off-limits, I think it depends on your audience and who you are. The song is not about a Jewish merchant contrasted with "goyim." It's about a businessman's dealings with others within his own ethnic community. Janet Klein, being Jewish herself, is probably not going to be perceived as PI when she does this song, complete with strong Yiddish accent. My concern is that, while I've often done accents and played characters in theatre and as a musical performer (and am routinely complimented on the credibility of my accents by people whose native languages I sing in), since I am a "shiksa," some people in the Jewish retirement communities where I perform regularly might take offense. Before I add it to my repertoire there, I'll probably run it by the activity directors and maybe a few residents. (I actually did share it with a retired couple yesterday after I had finished a program at an upscale Jewish retirement residenct. They were not familiar with the song and the woman, Margie, was very surprised that she had "missed an Irving Berlin song." They both seemed to think it was funny, but I thought I detected a scintilla of reservation on their part. Further research is needed. |
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08 Sep 08 - 10:40 AM (#2434094) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berl From: Genie Oh, and John, here's the blurb from the YouTube video about where it's from: ================= Janet Klein sings an Irving Berlin tune entitled, "Cohen Owes Me Ninety-seven Dollars" (1915). Lyrics shown below. This happened at the Tin Pan Alley show during the Annual West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, California - November 2007. ================= |
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08 Sep 08 - 07:55 PM (#2434705) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berlin) From: Rabbi-Sol You can hear a midi-karaoke file of this entire song at: www.pitt-payne.com He has done midi-karaoke files of everything Irving Berlin ever wrote. When you get on the site put "Irving Berlin" into the search engine. When all the pages come up, go to page 3. It is the 5th song down from the top. SOL |
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12 Sep 08 - 03:30 PM (#2438646) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berl From: Genie All 1500 songs, Rabbi-Sol? ; ) (OK, Berlin supposedly wrote that many, but he may not have officially published all of them.) Thanks for the pitt-payne web address. I'll check it out. Genie |
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12 Sep 08 - 04:12 PM (#2438681) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berlin) From: Rabbi-Sol Pitt-Payne has over 5,000 songs on his site. In addition to Berlin he also has Victor Herbert, Cole Porter, and many other famous American and UK composers. His specialty is Ragtime music. There are more songs being added every day. He is quite a prolific individual. SOL |
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12 Sep 08 - 06:42 PM (#2438809) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cohen Owes Me 97 Dollars (Irving Berl From: Genie Sounds like a treasure trove. Thanks, Sol! Genie |