Between The Wars

sunny days at the turn of the century
a certain quality of light
captured in impressionist paintings
so gloriously, victoriously bright
as the kings and queens of europe
gather on the lawn for a family event
the old queen may be gone
but her family live on
and together rule the continent
their autocratic task to keep the peace
and here upon the terraces
and mingling in the palaces
it seems as if warm days will never cease

and it is, as it always shall be
in that civilised world
at the turn of the century

not everyone is happy as the century begins
there’s Africa, India and the East
into which the West expands, until the people and their lands
are a banquet on which Europeans feast

while in the USA, folk have their say and, getting richer by the day
those damn republicans are walking tall
with their liberty, equality, fraternity as if they see
that there could be a better life for all

in Europe too, a century of riot and dissent
sees uprisings against the kings and queens
by the unwashed masses, all those common lads and lasses
who live in squalor, working at machines

throughout the continent, they vent their growing discontent
those revolting Frenchies first to sound the call
with their liberty, equality, fraternity as if they see
that there could be a better life for all

now communism sows its subversive seeds
from each according to their skills, to each according to their needs
and the thought that we can work as one in harmony and love
rather than vindictively controlled from up above
is an idea that quickly breeds – and breeds...

in Britain, by the dawning of the 20th century
we even have a socialist MP
there’s a never-ending storm of protest shrieking for reform
and those tiresome Irish clamour to be free

while the monstrous regiment of women even want the vote
whatever next – everyone wants more
more liberty, equality, fraternity, sorority
a better life than they have led before

and what do they get?
they get war

bent double, like old beggars under sacks
knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge
till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
and towards our distant rest began to trudge

men marched asleep. many had lost their boots
but limped on, blood-shod, all went lame, all blind
drunk with fatigue, deaf even to the hoots
of tired, outstripped five-nines that dropped behind

gas! gas! quick boys! – an ecstasy of fumbling
fitting the clumsy helmets just in time
but someone still was yelling out and stumbling
and flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...

dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
as under a green sea, i saw him drowning
in all my dreams, before my helpless sight
he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning

if in some smothering dreams you too could pace
behind the wagon that we flung him in
and watch the white eyes writhing in his face
his hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin

if you could hear at every jolt, the blood
come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs
obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues

my friend, you would not tell with such high zest
to children ardent for some desperate glory
the old lie “dulce et decorum est
pro patria mori”

that it is sweet and right to die
for your country

millions and millions of people are dead
dead every moral and ethic we’ve prized
this wasn’t a plague or a meteor
we did all this, we created this war
and we thought we were civilised

where now do we take our leadership from
without kings to rally us all as we grieve
to some the solution already exists
communists, fascists and capitalists
but which of these can we believe

as whether we like it or not
everything we’ve ever known is thrown
into the melting pot

every day three thousand of us pour in
to the US, we come from everywhere
to build a new life in the land of the free
rich melting pot of humanity
and hope to make our fortunes there

as whether we like it or not
everything we’ve ever known is thrown
into the melting pot

as the Versailles Treaty ends the war
to end all wars, Marshal Foch fears
“this is not a peace, this is an armistice
for twenty years” …twenty years

black former slaves take up woodwind and brass
while improvising, they kick up a storm
in which old world harmonies, formal but sweet
get mashed up into an African beat
as jazz, a new world music form
takes the stage – it’s all the rage
cos here comes the Jazz Age
and jazz is hot

and whether we like it or not
everything we’ve ever known is thrown
into the melting pot

in 1920 women get the vote – hurray
they no longer need to do whatever menfolk say
they’re free to do as they may
to dance the night away
once women’s suffrage passes into law
as off the roaring twenties roar

in the USA prohibition wins the day
so the white folks pay to drink in joints where black folks play
speakeasies become the stage
where hot jazz is all the rage
and it’s what the whole wide world comes to adore
as off the roaring twenties roar…
[in Bb]
we got a new world, we got electric lights and cans of beans
we got safety razors, refrigerators, zippers and sewing machines
we got buildings they call skyscrapers that rise to incredible height
oh, here comes the future, we are the future and the future is bright
we’re dancing into the light

there’s no problem that we can’t solve, cos Darwin’s told us that we evolve
and with our massive brain, we’ve invented cellophane

transport is getting motorised, adding power to our wheels
bicycles become motorbikes, carriages become automobiles
we got tractors, we got trains and, with the brothers Wright
things with wings called aeroplanes give us the power of flight
we’re soaring into the light

while, to tell us what desire and malice is, we now have psychoanalysis
our genius is everywhere – and E equals M-C-squared – yeah!

we’ve antiseptics and anaesthetics, records and radio
we got photography and we’re off to see a moving picture show
we talk to friends by telephone, we’re increasingly erudite
and we got machine guns, radar and tanks, barbed wire and dynamite
we’re exploding into the light

and everything is alright
we’re leaping, prancing, ever-advancing, dancing – into the light

shimmy your shoulders, twizzle your feet
kick up your heels to the jungle beat
lose your corset, bob your hair
tappers, flappers everywhere

show off your legs, paint your lips
writhe like a snake, swivel your hips
knock your knees, swig some hooch
dance real close, canoodle, smooch
it’s seditious, it’s pernicious
and yet so delicious

bright young things, wild and free
all gone dance crazy

throw off the chains of obedience
give yourself up to decadence
snort cocaine, smoke cannabis
it’s the cult of the clitoris
cos jazz is sex, it comes from jism
reckless, shameless hedonism

bright young things, wild and free
all gone dance crazy

we not only dismiss the values of the older generation
we choose the culture of the former slaves for inspiration
as all across the nation

we shimmy, shuffle, bunny hug – eagle rock or cut a rug
bump and grind, jitterbug – every kind of drink or drug
it’s on the money, in the bag – stomp, boogie, slow drag
black bottom, shake, shag – ballin’ the jack, rumba, rag
jail bird, jump, squat – baltimore, turkey trot
chicken scratch, mooch, strut – fish tail, toddle, funky butt
camel walk, charleston – dancing on and on
life is sweet, here and gone – one long marathon
monkey glide, lindy hop – dance, dance, till you drop

as bright young things, wild and free
all gone dance crazy – all gone
dance cra-zee!

psychologists
tell us a second brain exists
of which we’re blind
they call it the unconscious mind
although by day
our egotism may hold sway
at night they say
desires and fears come out to play
if this is true – who are you

the war is due
to savage forces bursting through
the more repressed
the more neurotically obsessed
pandora’s box
exploding in a thousand shocks
are we just fools
with selves that won’t obey our rules
until we cry – who am I

just as dreams are our internal cinema
so movies become our cathartic medium
a picture show where in the dark our minds let go
we face attacks, we’re gagged and bound to railroad tracks
experience a feast of sex and violence
the camera delves deep into our naked selves
and yet we see the movie ending happily
it’s fantasy

we’re not so blessed
these urges cannot be supressed
this world beyond
this secret shameful demimonde
comes seeping through
and governs everything we do
as we disguise
our motives in a pack of lies
our lives may be
a rationalised insanity
veneer we call reality
a product of our vanity
a movie show
so who are we
we do not know

a boat sails into Paris, full of passengers and crew
on board a troupe, booked to perform an all-negro revue
among them is a black girl raised in the St. Louis slums
sleeping under cardboard and scavenging for crumbs

she’ll become a spy with secrets in her underwear
be honored all across the world, receive the Croix de Guerre
adopt a Rainbow Tribe of children, meanwhile championing
the cause of Civil Rights alongside Martin Luther King
but sailing into Paris – she knows none of this

yet on first night, held aloft by a giant
she appears in a spotlight, she is black, she’s defiant
entirely naked, just a feather to hide her pride
she’s upside down, and her legs are open wide
she is outrageous, so beautiful, the stuff of dreams
after a moment’s silence – the audience screams
as if by design, in this one single scene
she becomes divine – the divine Josephine

now she dances crazily, her body seems to fly
every time she leaps, she says, she seems to touch the sky
snaking hips, shaking thighs, waving arms about
pouting lips, crossing eyes, she pokes her bottom out

her comedy, her timing, her amazing energy
a gushing stream of rhythm coupled with self-mockery
she seems entirely free, the crowd is shocked and yet beguiled
and at the end the audience goes absolutely wild
she’s just nineteen – oh Josephine

in France she finds there’s no prejudice, she is free
she makes her home in this land of equality
a singing star, darling of screen and stage
the icon of the European jazz age
her struggle to be free becomes her quest for humanity
the rest is history, as Hemmingway will say “she’s
the most sensational woman anyone’s ever seen
here’s to the queen – the divine Josephine

F Scott Fitzgerald became the herald of the new jazz age
in his short stories and novels, its glories leap out from every page…

the ferry boat moving softly
from the Jersey shore at dawn
returning troops marched up Fifth Avenue
and girls were instinctively drawn

the lush and liquid garden parties
were empty for me
there was gala in the air
but as a failure I’d despair
hating the city that I’d roam
till I got roaring weeping drunk
on my last penny and went home

my lost city
the gilded youth shine bright
Fifth Avenue deserted
on a hot Sunday night
living life is all the rage
just turn a page and see
New York in the jazz age
my lost city

just six months later doors were open to me
impresarios begged plays
presses pounded out This Side Of Paradise
and I married Zelda, all in three days …oh

her courage and her flaming self respect
I will love her forever
it’s the start of everything, like floating logs
we met head on and sped along together

already the boom, the first speakeasies
and here was a new generation
grown up to find all gods dead, all wars fought
and all faiths in mankind shaken

I remember riding on top of a cab
drinking a quart of whiskey
through strange doors to strange apartments
in the freshly bewitched city

we danced on tables at the Waldorf
flirting, kissing, never apart
five hectic years of wild extremes
with privileged glimpses into the human heart

my lost city
an oboe played real sweet
mingling with the noise of traffic
coming from the street
living life is all the rage
just turn a page and see
New York in the jazz age
my lost city

by nineteen twenty-seven
hysteria had begun
morals were looser, liquor was cheaper
but nothing was that much fun

with nothing left of joviality
only the brutish to pursue
speakeasies where the snarling face
of the underworld peered through

stupid with cake and circuses
a bloated, gutted city
engaged in the most expensive orgy
in history

we were away but heard the dull distant crash
and in the gloom
years later I walked reverentially through
the echoing tomb

and there among the ruins
a few childish wraiths still played
betraying by their hectic cheeks
the thinness of the masquerade

my lost city
a ride through Central Park
a miracle of foamy light
suspended in the dark
living life is all the rage
I close my eyes and see
New York in the jazz age
all is lost save memory

the USA is in rude health
now we’re a global power
producing half the world’s wealth
and getting richer by the hour
we are first among nations
everyone’s doing deals
new roads, motels, gas stations
and twenty-three million automobiles
we take business in our stride
mass production is our pride
seems like fate is on our side
cos we have been electrified
the twenties roar and business booms
there’s no piper to pay
and every day’s a good news day
in boom time USA
the stock market’s getting bigger
each year twenty percent
so millions of us figure
buying up stocks is dough well spent
it’s only ten percent we pay
when we buy the broker’s wares
the market rises every day
and whoever dares become millionaires
bank reserves may be fictitious
some of us may be suspicious
but we all feel real ambitious
and the profits are delicious
the twenties roar and business booms
there’s no piper to pay
and every day’s a good news day
in boom time USA
everything is fine till late twenty-nine
when the Dow Jones falls twelve percent
and the panic sell-off is violent
the investors pray
but Black Tuesday is not good news day
the market crashes, millions pay
the jazz age whistles away
a great depression comes to stay
now it’s doom time, not boom time
but doom time USA

each crash triggers the next crash
as the world dives into the red
Germany is the worst hit
causing intolerance to spread
folk with cart-loads of useless cash
in search of a loaf of bread

a great depression
a psychological state
an unending procession
from loss through fear to hate

financial panic consumes the globe
a kind of living hell
supply and demand come spiraling down
no one can buy so no one can sell
suicide’s at an all-time high
and where it ends, who can tell

a great depression
the citizens are depressed
a distressing obsession
that weighs upon your chest

the great depression changes everything
our hearts pour out in the songs we sing
remember my forgotten man, let’s face the music and dance
on the boulevard of broken dreams, give me just one more chance
keep your sunny side up, sing as we go, it’s supper time
underneath the arches, over the rainbow, buddy can you spare a dime

grinding poverty, unemployed
and destitution, despair
daily scenes you can’t avoid
soup kitchens everywhere
two million hobos now ride the rails
and live on a wing and a prayer

as the depression
drags on, you never can rest
you are in its possession
but imagining you’re blessed
just get through this depression
and try to do your best

though our cabaret wears an alluring face
Berlin has become a degenerate place
a perverse decadent homosexual disgrace
where nudity, satire and jazz embrace
a girl in a suit, a man in a dress, it’s madness

our visual art in abstraction screams
with symphonies jangling atonal themes
while movies evoke our psychotic dreams
as Berlin just teems with obsessive schemes
compulsive corruption, but who can repress this madness

we watch the madness rise
lose or gain, is it really insane
wicked or wise, we hear its cries
to be free
of the lies of the previous century

the material world has outrun its course
now matter has energy right at its source
we’re fashioned by an invisible force
which crazy scientists all endorse
a wave or a particle, no one can guess, it’s madness

beginning to fathom an atom’s potential
the matter of fact becomes experiential
our very foundations are inconsequential
as structure dissolves into existential
who can deliver us from this vile mess, this madness

Berlin’s alight, on fire
good or bad, is it really so mad
or an outburst of insight and desire
to be free
free enough to inspire a new century

meanwhile the bourgeois psyche wearies
of isms, schisms, political theories
of music reduced to a mere twelve-tone series
as each passing moment, the creeping fear is
increasing distress, we are under duress
as the child murderer from Lang’s M will confess

I cannot help what I do
what do you know about it anyway
who are you

I’ve no control of this evil in me
the voices, the torment, it’s there all the time
following silently
it’s me pursuing me

I want to escape but I have to obey
to run through the endless streets to get away
pursued by the ghosts of the mothers and children
they’re always there
except when
when I do it…
and then

afterwards, when I read what I have done
I can’t remember, but who’ll believe me
who knows what it’s like to be me, there is no one
I’m forced to do what I do
I must, don’t want to
must, don’t want to

then a voice screams and I’m gone
I can’t bear to hear it, I can’t
I can’t go on

what we need now’s a strong man to quell
this expressionist nightmare, this hedonist hell
where he will come from, we cannot yet tell
but when he arises all will be well
uniting our nation, he will suppress this madness, oh yes

Germany will unite
we will lose all those perverts and jews
as together we march on into the light
free from fears
to a reich at its height
for a thousand years

in eastern Europe pogroms abound
jews are murdered, homes burnt to the ground…

escaping the ghetto for lands unknown
Sam crosses Europe on foot and alone
docking in Canada, he’s to walk
five hundred miles through the snow to New York

Louis escapes to the US of A
when Adolph is orphaned he too gets away
William and family emigrate
Jack and his brothers to Maryland State

all born into ghettos, destitute, poor
all jews from in and around Warsaw
the coincidence beggars analysis
for these are the young men who struggle and scheme
who escape to shape the American dream
to build on each success
from pogroms to palaces

rising through marketing in the US
Carl wants to start his own clothing business
but outside a picture house he sees the queues
this is the industry that he will choose

the four brothers come to the same decision
William, Adolph and Louis also have this vision
while Sam seizes the opportunity
and goes straight into making a full length movie

all born into ghettos, destitute, poor
all jews from in and around Warsaw
the coincidence beggars analysis
for these are the young men who struggle and scheme
who escape to shape the American dream
to build on each success
from pogroms to palaces

so these intrepid men make their way
to the land where the citrus and palm trees sway
as the weather for filming is always terrific
they build their dream factories by the Pacific

as Adolph at Paramount owns the stocks
William is Twentieth Century Fox
Carl’s Universal and round the corner
Jack rules the roost for the brothers Warner

Sam Goldwyn’s an independent player
while Louis runs Metro Goldwyn Mayer
from outcasts of hate to the great and good
these are the men who create Hollywood

all born into ghettos, destitute, poor
all jews from in and around Warsaw
the coincidence beggars analysis
for these are the young men who struggle and scheme
who escape to shape the American dream
to build on each success
from pogroms to palaces

when the great depression hits
everyone comes round and sits
cos home is where it’s at
and as we once sat around a fire
it warms up our hearts, fuels our desire
it makes us all laugh and sing
it’s cheaper than anything
outside cold winds may blow, oh
you can talk on the phone
but you’re never alone
when you own a radio

hidey-ho, back we go, to the golden age of radio

the sitcoms and classic plays
the dance bands and cabarets
the radio seems to glow (vo-do-dee-oh)
variety hours and weather reports
discussions and concerts, thrilling live sports
soap operas or a quiz
the gossip about show biz
tune in to any show, oh
there’s so much you can choose
from the star interviews
to news on the radio

War of the Worlds creates a sensation
seems like breaking news from the radio station
panic ensues across the nation
run for the hills, there’s a Martian invasion

there’s Little Orphan Annie
and Hopalong Cassidy
there’s Shakespeare and Jimmy Durante
from Amos and Andy to Dick Tracy
and charming but silly Beatrice Lillie
Bob Hope, Camel Caravan
Jack Benny and Charlie Chan
how we all love them so, oh
and what would the loss be
if we lost Bing Crosby
thank goodness we’ll never know, so
god bless our radio

happy days are here again
the skies above are clear again
so let’s sing a song of cheer again
happy days are here again

a sudden fever, his senses drain
numbness, paralysis, constant pain
Franklin Delano Roosevelt will remain
unable to walk unaided again

but with leg braces on, he starts to retrain
swinging his hips and taking the strain
by supporting his body with a cane
for years he fights against the grain

even his mother thinks this is insane
nonetheless he makes the decision
to conquer his present condition
and overcome this imposition

when the markets crash, there’s utter dismay
closed banks and shanty towns betray
the nation’s inexorable decay
when thousands of veterans march one day

on Washington DC to beg for their pay
all that President Hoover can say
is burn their belongings and drive them away
but on election day, USA

Franklin Roosevelt steps into the fray
he will take every decision
to conquer our present condition
we shall overcome this imposition – so sing it out loud and clear

the only thing we’ve to fear is fear
trust that real solutions will appear
and that we’ll recover year by year
now that FDR is here

he sets out a New Deal, his policy
is relief, reform and recovery
he reforms the banks immediately
gives relief to the poorest in society

his Fireside chats reassure the country
he starts vast public works, social security
plants billions of trees nationally
no more prejudice racially

he repeals Prohibition
ends cut-throat competition
Congress is always in session
FDR will end this depression – so sing it out loud and clear

the only thing we’ve to fear is fear
trust that real solutions will appear
and that we’ll recover year by year
now that FDR is here

“co-operation starts where competition leaves off, be of no doubt
we all go up or we all go down
we are going to make a country where no one is left out”

in an outburst of creativity
under FDR’s presidency
unemployment falls dramatically
the economy grows exponentially

the sheer scale and ambition
this is a man with a vision
no room for indecision
the ailing leader will fulfil his mission – so sing it out loud and clear

the only thing we’ve to fear is fear
trust that real solutions will appear
and that we’ll recover year by year
now that FDR is here

when he dies in office we shed a tear
his resolve to overcome his fear
becomes our resolve, so sing loud and clear
FDR is always here

*
? FDR Is Here [key G ?]
a sudden fever, his senses drain
numbness, paralysis, constant pain
Franklin Delano Roosevelt will remain
unable to walk unaided again
but with leg braces on, he starts to retrain
swinging his hips and taking the strain
by supporting his body with a cane
for years he fights against the grain
even his mother thinks this is insane
nonetheless he makes the decision
to conquer his present condition
and overcome this imposition

when the markets crash, there’s utter dismay
closed banks and shanty towns betray
the nation’s inexorable decay
when thousands of veterans march one day
on Washington DC to beg for their pay
all that President Hoover can say
is burn their belongings and drive them away
but on election day, USA
Franklin Roosevelt steps into the fray
he will take every decision
to conquer our present condition
we shall overcome this imposition – so sing it out loud and clear

the only thing we’ve to fear is fear [happy days are here again
trust that real solutions will appear the skies above are clear again
and that we’ll recover year by year so let’s sing a song of cheer again
now that FDR is here happy days are here again]

he sets out a New Deal, his policy
is relief, reform and recovery
he reforms the banks immediately
gives relief to the poorest in society
gives farmers and home owners mortgage security
his Fireside chats reassure the country
he starts vast public works, serves ecology
by planting billions of trees nationally
gives major funding to industry
ends cutthroat competition
and repeals Prohibition
this is a man on a mission

the poor, the sick, the elderly
all receive social security
the housing act offers a subsidy
to every low-income family
child labour is no more to be
the forty-hour week’s a necessity
and a minimum wage nationally
trades unions are in and a guarantee
to protect the rights of the employee
to prevent any regression
Congress is always in session
FDR will end this depression – so sing it out loud and clear

the only thing we’ve to fear is fear [happy days are here again
trust that real solutions will appear the skies above are clear again
and that we’ll recover year by year so let’s sing a song of cheer again
now that FDR is here happy days are here again]

“co-operation starts where competition leaves off, be of no doubt
we all go up or we all go down
we are going to make a country where no one is left out”

at work no more prejudice racially
he empowers the black community
as parks and forests spring up nationally
employment for everyone is the key
from the youth to the artist fraternity
in an outburst of creativity
under FDR’s presidency
unemployment falls dramatically
the economy grows exponentially
no room for indecision
the sheer scale and ambition
this is a man with a vision – so sing it out loud and clear

the only thing we’ve to fear is fear [happy days are here again
trust that real solutions will appear the skies above are clear again
and that we’ll recover year by year so let’s sing a song of cheer again
now that FDR is here happy days are here again]

when he dies in office we shed a tear
his resolve to overcome his fear
becomes our resolve, so sing loud and clear
FDR is always here

if the depression speaks of darkness, Hollywood is its light
and when Broadway moves to Hollywood, everything’s gonna be alright

for sound has come to movies, The Jazz Singer is a smash
when Jolson croons, the whole world swoons, never mind the Wall Street crash

and vaudevillians in their trillions, anyone who’s any good
takes the first train out to Californ-I-A, as Broadway goes Hollywood

of all the shimmering show folk, who seem to dance on air
the greatest Hollywood musicals feature Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

all the great songwriters write for them, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin
Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, it’s a banquet of songs, to make your head spin

while Tinsel Town glows with the great and the good
as Broadway goes Hollywood

each studio’s a city with vast sound stages
outdoor sets of all places and ages
lighting departments, scenery docks
producers, distributors and writers’ blocks
costume, makeup, electricians
gaffers, directors, plumbers, musicians
sound engineering, carpentry
camera crews, photography
buildings for editing, publicity, props
hotels, restaurants, banks and shops
doctors, dentists, cars and bars
as well as a galaxy of Hollywood stars

there’s Marlene Dietrich, Shirley Temple, Bette Davis, Jean Harlow
Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo

Jimmy Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn
Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Rin Tin Tin

The Marx Brothers, the great Barbara Stanwick, the Duke Ellington Band
Mae West, the Powells – William and Dick, Laurel and Hardy, Judy Garland

the picture shows make us feel so good
that the whole world knows
and the whole world glows
as the whole world goes Hollywood

young boy brigades in Italy
pledge allegiance to Il Duce
as fascist girls smile prettily
at a party rally

at ship yard gates, a crowd that prays
for one day’s grueling labour
in Russia a party member betrays
her next door neighbour

in Germany, as all banks close
they burn bank notes for fuel
while Indians gather to oppose
British rule

although the first’s already been
and the second cannot yet be seen
the currents that connect effect to cause
orchestrate the lives of those who live
between the wars

a dust storm whips away the soil
and, as the foul winds blow
a subsistence farmer bent in toil
where nothing will grow

a woman in a cardboard bed
canoodles with her lover
in Shanghai, droning overhead
means run for cover

a cigarette hangs from his lips
George Orwell in Spain to stifle
Franco’s fascists, his fingertips
wrapped around a rifle

although the first’s already been
and the second cannot yet be seen
the currents that connect effect to cause
orchestrate the lives of those who live
between the wars

the warp and weft of time dilates
around intense events, creates
a writhing force that germinates
and draws us on to what awaits
what doesn’t fit, it terminates

meanwhile our work, our daily chores
the whistling wind, the ocean’s roars
we do not understand the laws
but only pass through open doors
we sense events unseen but cannot pause
between the wars

a Chinese man awaits beheading
surrounded by Japanese men
their scientists experimenting
on Chinese children

his right arm raised in a Nazi salute
Hitler in an open car
the Viennese in joyous pursuit
as he enters Vienna

Chinese escaping Japanese
Jews escaping Europe’s shores
black men hanging from southern trees
between the wars

although the first’s already been
and the second cannot yet be seen
the currents that connect effect to cause
orchestrate the lives of those who live
between the wars
between the wars
between the wars

“come up and see me sometime” says Mae West A
and who can ever forget her
“when I'm good I'm very good
but when I'm bad, I'm better”

“Is that a gun in your pocket B
or are you just pleased to see me?”
“Anything worth doing
is worth doing slowly”

“sex is an emotion in motion A
I can't wait to get back to bed
I used to be Snow White
but I drifted”

“it's not the men in my life that count B
it's the life in my men”
“those who are easily shocked
should be shocked more often”

“good sex is like good bridge” A
as I’m sure you’ll understand
“if you don't have a good partner
you'd better have a good hand”

days may not always be sunny
but some people sure are funny
so here’s to the clowns who love to jest
to W C Fields, Groucho Marx, Mae West
to Burns and Allen, Jimmy Durante
here’s to the heroes of comedy

Groucho Marx has a razor sharp wit A
“I’ve had a wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it”
he announces “I never forget a face
but I’ll make an exception in your case”

“whoever named it necking was obviously A
a poor judge of anatomy”
“marriage is a wonderful institution
but who wants to live in an institution?”

“either he’s dead or my watch has stopped” B
he says of one of his brothers
“these are my principles, if you don’t like them
well …I have others”

“I wouldn’t join a club that would have me as a member” A
I’d never make the grade
“the secret of life is honesty
if you can fake that, you’ve got it made”

some get their laughs from abusing
others are gently amusing
so here’s to the clowns who love to jest
to W C Fields, Groucho Marx, Mae West
to Burns and Allen, Jimmy Durante
here’s to the heroes of comedy

W C Fields says “I like children A
if cooked properly”
“I am free of all prejudice
I hate everyone equally”

“If you can't dazzle them with brilliance B
baffle them with bullshit”
“I drink therefore I am
“I don't drink water, fish fuck in it”

“I've never hit a woman in my life A
not even my own mother”
his last words are “goddamn the whole fucking world
and everyone in it except you, Carlotta!”

some are too clever by half
while others so stupid you gotta laugh
so here’s to the clowns who love to jest
to W C Fields, Groucho Marx, Mae West
to Burns and Allen, Jimmy Durante
here’s to the heroes of comedy

“you gotta start off each day with a song
even when things go wrong”
“my nose isn’t big” Jimmy Durante said
“I just happen to have a very small head”
LONG HIGH NOTE
“that note was given to me by Bing Crosby
and was he glad to get rid of it”
EXTENDED ARPEGGIO
“wait a minute, wait a minute, stop the music, stop the music
everyone puts in extra notes”
PIANO LEAD-IN
“now isn’t it better to go through life with a smile and a song
than walking around with a face eleven miles long
now you know you can’t go wrong
if you start off each day with a song”

George Burns and Gracie Allen A
never fail to make us laugh
she says “when I was born I was so surprised
I didn't talk for a year and a half”

“don’t walk around offending people B
when you can do it while you sit”
“they laughed at Joan of Arc
but she went right ahead and built it”

Gracie stands for president A
and this is her advice
“people complain about the shape the world’s in
but I think round is nice”

when Gracie dies, George goes it alone B
for years, another thirty
reminiscing, he says “I remember when
the air was clean and sex was dirty”

“too bad those who know how to run this country A
are busy running cabs or cutting hair”
“I’m very pleased to be here, well, at my age
I’m pleased to be anywhere”

if humour is lost in any nation
bang goes civilisation
so, here’s to the clowns who love to jest
to W C Fields, Groucho Marx, Mae West
to Burns and Allen, Jimmy Durante
here’s to the heroes of comedy

just as there’s scope
for us to hope
a chance for our spirits to soar
Germany seizes
neighboring countries
and again the world goes to war

we’ve had a succession
of war and depression
surely it can’t be true
yet, sick at heart
our loved ones depart
and march off to world war two

we don’t know who, when, where, how or why
but eighty million of us will die
so wish them luck as we wave them goodbye

beyond the war
there’s loads in store
but we’ll dance to a different tune
a cold war to face
a race to space
as we place men on the moon

for something new
ends world war two
far greater than dynamite
the explosion from
an atom bomb
tells us the future is bright
as on we go
where we don’t know
dancing into the light

wish them luck as we wave them goodbye
cheerio, here they go, on their way
wish them luck as we wave them goodbye
not a tear, but a cheer, make it gay
give them a smile they can keep all the while
in their hearts while they’re away
till we meet once again, you and I
wish them luck as we wave them goodbye

when the civil war makes black folk free
they’re free to starve or stay
picking up the drums, woodwind and brass
from the marching bands, they step on the gas
and play – to pay their way

they harmonise, they improvise
and every note destroys
the racial hate as they syncopate
till everyone comes to celebrate
these boys – and their joyous noise

jazz is hot, it’s got razzmatazz – put on your dancing shoes
cos jazz is what you has – the blues is what you lose

there’s a call and response across the fields
as cotton pickers sing
of how they feel, their personal views
of the ordeal as, to the blues
they bring – their suffering

the blues and jazz goes from black to white
via coon and minstrel shows
their antics so invigorate
that whites can’t help but imitate
expose – their joys and woes

jazz is hot, it’s got razzmatazz – put on your dancing shoes
cos jazz is what you has – the blues is what you lose

when the great war ends, we need
to celebrate the news
we also need to mourn the loss
and here is jazz and blues
to take the big wide world by storm
from which all pop music will form
so let us pay our dues
from tap to rap, from funk to punk
just play the blue notes flat
learn to croon and scat
cos jazz is where it’s at

from John O’Groats to Alcatraz – it’s freedom if you choose
cos jazz is what you has – the blues is what you lose

the boy in this love story
is born into Russian poverty
when their home is burned down by cossacks one day
they flee the pogrom for the USA

the girl in this love story
is christened Ellin Mackay
an heiress, from one of the tip-top families
in the USA

and her father won’t hear of her tawdry affair
with this bowery boy, this jew
so he sends her to Europe, to find a more suitable
fam’ly, to marry into

but the boy woos her from afar
with songs of sweet admiration
and their affair becomes a tabloid scandal
a 1920s sensation

anyway, they elope, they marry and
looking back, it appears
that their marriage is a love affair
lasting over 60 years

the boy is a songwriter, Irving Berlin
by 1925 he’s already well-known
here’s one of the songs that he sings to Ellin
over the telephone

I'll be loving you, always
with a love that's true, always
when the things you've planned
need a helping hand
I will understand
always, always
days may not be fair always
that's when I’ll be there, always
not for just an hour
not for just a day
not for just a year
but always

in music drama, Operah is the swankiest thing to do
for, in Operah they sing ALL THE WAY THROUGH
Wagner makes the orchestra the mainstay
where voices chuck their lines into the melee
while Verdi proffers bouquets of song
with dialogue sung, to move the plot along
in Operah, everyone emotes – and sings strange alarming notes
anyhow it’s posh, it’s deep, it’s smart – Operah is High Art

one step down from Operah, is a hybrid called Operettah
whether it’s by Gilbert and ...Sullivan or Franz Lehar
it’s middle-brow, the songs are light
and the characters speak, so that’s alright
but those who start the Musical, those Broadway go-getters
are much influenced by these Operettas
so it’s hard to work out the difference – and if you want to make sense
you have to go to the bottom of the social ladder – and change continents

in the States, at the turn of the century, impoverished immigrant jews
meet the culture of the former slaves and their amazing jazz and blues
there’s burlesque with rough comics and girls so pretty
who’ll sing and dance and even show you a titty
there’s fam’ly entertainment, vaudeville
where stars like the Marx brothers may top the bill
and in New York, star-studded revues – with comics and pretty girls singin’ the blues
Just throw in some daft romantic plot – and the Broadway Musical is what you got

a jew in blackface is by far the biggest star of the day
throughout the twenties, Al Jolson is king
and he’d often just run out to the audience and say
“do you want to see the show, or hear me sing?”
and they’d say “sing, Al – sing!”

I'm sitting on top of the world, just rolling along, just rolling along
I'm quitting the blues of the world, just singing a song, just singing a song
glory hallelujah I just phoned the parson “hey par, get ready to call”
just like Humpty Dumpty, I'm going to fall
I'm sitting on top of the world, just rolling along, just singing a song!