Re: "God Bless America"

[Alex Lubet <lubet001...>]

Geez, I was only kidding.

At 07:33 PM 9/17/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>>Please don't be so hard on God Bless America; composed by a Jew 
>>and >rhymes 'foam' and 'home'.  To quote a great Jewish lyricist, Who 
>>could >ask for anything more?
>
>Alex and friends,
>
>I am indeed hard on "God Bless America" and expect to remain so.
>
>Woody Guthrie composed "This Land Is Your Land"--proposed by some 
>(wishfully, I'm afraid) as an alternative anthem--inspired, negatively, by 
>Irving Berlin's song.  He thought that the song had an unspoken 
>connotation of being sung by, and for, the wealthy/prosperous and smug 
>(Berlin was certainly the first, though he was a heartfelt patriot, if a 
>lousy citizen of the Jewish people)--*not* for ordinary working 
>stiffs.  (So the refrain of "TLIYL" was originally "God blessed America 
>for me" [where we sing, and Woody changed it to:  "This land was made for 
>you and me"].)  Captures my sentiments exactly--especially when I hear the 
>obnoxious Kate Smith singing GBA.  I realize many sing it with heartfelt 
>and patriotic sincerity--but I cringe.
>
>TLIYL, by the way, was written to a borrowed (or, Woody might say, stolen) 
>melody, just as The Star Spangled Banner was.  In a private communication, 
>Steve Barnett conveyed that he thought that I was saying that TSSB's 
>borrowed melody was one reason why (he agreed) it shouldn't be our 
>national anthem; but, fwiw, that wasn't my point; contrafacta (new words 
>to an old melody) are ubiquitous in folk as in Jewish music and embrace 
>some of our most cherished songs, and I wouldn't rule out an anthem 
>candidate on that basis.
>
>("My Country, Tis of Thee" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" are both, of 
>course, also contrafacts; and "Hatikvah" itself is very likely a 
>contrafact to a Roumanian folk song and, in any case, its melody is a 
>so-called wandering melody, found in innumerable cultures--not remotely 
>original.
>"America the Beautiful," otoh, which is my personal--and 
>others'--candidate for anthem, was, I believe, written to an original 
>melody.  Has anyone seen/read the new book on ATB, written, improbably, by 
>some TV personality, I believe?  Any good?)
>
>I'm well aware of the data that Steve usefully supplied in re TSSB, as I 
>have the incredible good fortune of having found a rare book--an entire 
>book!--on the anthem in a second-hand store.  Just a wealth of material on 
>Key's words, the melody, appearances in print of TSSB, and, I believe, on 
>the *many* (I believe a hundred or more, maybe two hundred [sets of]) 
>words that were written to the "Anachreon in Heaven" melody before 
>Key's.  But, to echo Alex, I wouldn't be so hard on the anthem for *that* 
>(borrowed melody) reason; the Anachreon society was actually, a drinking 
>*and poetry* society:  They read poems in a pub and, I guess, toasted each 
>one!  Kind of classy in its own way, no?  And as for extolling wine, 
>women, and song--To which, brother Steve, do you take exception?
>
>Best wishes to all,
>
>Robert Cohen
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Join the world's largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. 
>http://www.hotmail.com
>
>

Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music
Adjunct Professor of American and Jewish Studies
University of Minnesota
100 Ferguson Hall
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612 624-7840 (o)
612 699-1097 (h)
612 624-8001  ATTN:  Alex Lubet (FAX)

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+