A few weeks back, I posted a medley of Jim Henson's favorite songs that the Muppets performed, a couple of which were songs based on poems by A.A. Milne put to music by Harold Fraser-Smith. And I followed that up here with the story of an album of those songs performed by Frank Luther. One of the songs in the Muppet medley was "Halfway Down," a favorite of mine from the Frank Luther album -- but I couldn't find a video of it. What I did find, though, was a recording of the song sung by...Gene Kelly! It's seemingly from an album that Kelly made, though I can't swear to it. Someone put his recording to a montage of Kelly's movie clips.
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I was having a discussion with a friend about how he hopes the furor over the Supreme Court decision doesn’t die down before the election, and that Democrats make every effort to make sure it stays strong.
I wrote back that, yes, Democrats have to make sure the furor keeps burning hot. But honestly, I don’t think the furor will come close to dying down – because of several reasons. 1) Women won’t let it. 2) Democrats know that if inflation doesn’t improve by the mid-terms, this is now their issue. And 3) Republicans aren’t going to stop with the court decision – they’re already talking about codifying a ban of abortion if they take control of Congress, and other issues wildly out-of-step with the public. (Even same-sex marriage is supported by 70% of the public.) So, Republicans will actually become their own worst enemy and keep showing themselves to be even more horrific. I think this furor is only going to grow – especially combined with the Select Committee hearings on the Insurrection to overthrow democracy to which this furor is related to. It’s all part of GOP fascism. Well, later in the day I can across this video. And it’s further evidence that, no, the furor is not going to die down. I didn’t know this song, though it sort of rumbled in the back of my mind as something I’d hear of. It’s from a British pop/rock star and songwriter Lily Allen who was brought onstage by the huge American pop/rock star Olivia Rodrigo to sing it together. And though this is at Glastonbury in England, not in the United States, in some ways the massive crowd participation speaks loudly to the public response. (I’m also sure the public reacts this way whenever the song is performed, but they do seem especially and understandably involved. And even though a British crowd, they react to mention of the Supreme Court and even certain justices.) Shorter versions of this appearance have shown up on social media, but this is the full 5-minute, official clip of the introduction and complete performance. And a warning, it’s not for the Family Hour, but blunt in its language.
From the archives. We have a new Piano Puzzler with contestant Kate Lamberton of Hanover, PA. I didn’t have a clue with the composer style, though I was surprised that my only guess was in the right genre and nationality. However, I did get the hidden song pretty quickly.
Earlier this week, in honor of the first day of Summer, I posted a couple recordings of Nat King Cole singing his big hit, “Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer.” (If you missed it, you can find them here.) When I did a little research before writing the piece, I was boggled to learn that the song was actually based on a German song, “Du spielst ‘ne tolle Rolle.” After tracking down the original, though, I realized that as surprising as it was, it almost made a bit of sense, since the music has a German beerhall, “oom-pah-pah” sensibility to it. The original song was written by Hans Carste in 1962, the year before Nat King Cole released his recording, that had new lyrics by Charles Tobias. The music is essentially the same, though in the German original, right after the brief introduction, there is different music prologue that doesn’t occur in the subsequent American version. The omission is an improvement, at least for the English words. Maybe not in Carste’s original, though. I have absolutely no idea what the German version is about – though I do seem to hear the word “bikini” in it, same as in the English-language song. So, perhaps there’s an overlap in themes. (Clearly, there is no German word for “bikini.” Either that, or the songwriter felt that “hammerschmittenvergblotten” didn’t scan properly to fit the music.) I ran the title through a translator program, and it came back “You play a great role.” It seems unlikely that that’s perfectly accurate, though a lively song with the word “bikini” in it and the word “play” at least seems reasonable. If we’re lucky, our website’s resident German scholar and home-care products scientist Dr. Gregory Van Buskirk might chime in with a word or two what the German original is about. And yes, of course I wouldn’t leave you hanging. And so, to prove I’m not lying, here is the German original, “Du spielst ‘ne tolle Rolle” performed by Willy Hagara. I suspect though that this photo of the fellow in a business suit on the telephone is the songwriter Hans Carste. As for the words at the top, “Schön ist diese Abendstunde,” my handy translator says that that means “The Evening Hour is Beautiful.” UPDATE: And yes, Dr. Buzz came through. Here's what Greg Van Buskirk, our expert on such things, wrote back to me elsewhere: I sometimes use an online site, deepl.com, for getting the translation better than with with Google Translate with long texts. Didn't really need it, but here's how it translated the song: You'll play a great part in the memoirs That I'll write one day, I swear to you. I've got plans for my old age All I need is a pen and paper Don't be surprised if I tell you today I'm writing a book, and the main character is you. You'll play a great part in the memoirs Because you've done a lot of things with me. I saw you strolling through Milan in a bikini I saw you dancing on a table I saw you boxing with a friend of the Mangano* Compared to that Brigitte Bardot is a small fish. You're going to play a great role in the memoirs I'm going to write, believe it or not You'll play a great role in the memoirs. In a few years, you'll be the talk of the town! *The actress Silvana Mangano (1930-1989) was then - in 1963 - at the zenith of her fame. Today, unlike her compatriots Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, she is completely forgotten. # I knew I went to the right place when calling on the eminent Dr. Van Buskirk. I'm curious how he used a translation site since the song was audio -- my guess is that he did extra credit work and tracked down the German lyrics. A very different song, indeed -- an homage to a beautiful woman. But hey, it's good to know that I was right about hearing the word "bikini" in there -- the only word, it seems, that made it to the American version. The other day, when posting here the medley of Jim Henson's favorite songs, which were sung by Muppet performers at Henson's memorial, I mentioned two songs included that were based on poems by A.A. Milne. Both of them were put to music by Harold Fraser-Simson, and originally recorded on an album sung by Frank Luther. I mentioned that it had a long life as a very successful children’s album, and we had an old copy in our house. I remember the album (and even these two songs, "Cottleston Pie" and "Halfway Down") with huge affection. For that matter, while I no longer have the album, I still do have well-read copies of both When We Were Very Young (from which "Halfway Down" comes) and also Milne’s other poetry collection, Now We are Six, as well as the two Pooh books, of which "Cottleston Pie" is in the original. But though I no longer have the record, happily many of the selections from it have been posted online. The album is Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin: Children Stories and Songs, performed by Frank Luther back in 1948. It's possible that my parents got it several years later for my older brother when he was old enough to appreciate such things, and so was still in the house when I came around later, though my sense is it may have been bought new in a subsequent re-release. In any regard, here is a medley of several songs from it, the first two of which I remember with great fondness. Today is the first day of Summer. And so, it's hard to celebrate that day without this joyful song, made famous in 1963 by Nat King Cole. As a bonus, this video from a British TV show isn't as good a rendition as the original recording but seeing Nat King Cole singing "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" is a great treat. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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