The Song Ain 'T Misbehavin'

Songs of the 20th Century
The Twentieth Century exists as the start of the fast paced changing world the human race lives in today. Each decade of the twentieth century possessed its own great characteristics and because of this, each decade left significant changes in music from year to year. The 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘50s lived as three radically different decades based on values, morals and music. The mindset of the people living in these times transpired with completely different ideals and ways of living. Each decade’s music was extremely reflective of the overall sentiment of what was happening historically. The 1920s, fondly referred to as “The Roaring Twenties,” produced the Jazz Age. The song “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” written in 1929,
illustrates the ideals and worries of adults of the time period. The 1920s were all about going out at night, getting drunk illegally, and falling in love. After World War I, America had a great deal of money to spend and no one seemed to think it would ever run out. The entire feel of the era had enchanted humans for almost a century. It was a time of bliss that ended in tragedy. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a stride song of New Orleans Jazz. Jazz, itself preservers the right for the artist to express deep feelings, such as love and heartache. On the other hand, Jazz can have a good beat just to dance to. The line “No one to talk with, all by myself, No one to walk with, I’m happy on the shelf babe, Ain’t misbehavin’, savin’ my love for you” describes someone so desperately in love that he or she will not leave or move until the person worth their time comes home. It is a song of love but also a song of desperation. The only things people really strived for during the 1920s were alcohol and sex. For example, the song “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)” contains lines such as “Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it, let’s do it, let’s fall in love.” This song is a perfect representation of the carefree attitude held by society in the 1920s. The twenties was an emotional time for the heart only because there was nothing else to worry about. Artists explored their hearts and minds with the help of illicit drugs and alcohol. However, soon it would be time for America’s party to end and for the morning after to begin with the Great Depression in the 1930s. “I remember all of a sudden we had to move. My father lost his job and we moved into a double garage…My father had owned three or four homes. His father left them to him. He lost these one by one” (Terkel, 93). These were not unfamiliar circumstances to people living in the 1930s. Many lost their homes and life savings in the blink of an eye because the banks went out of business. In 1938, one year before the start of World War II, Ella Fitzgerald recorded “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.” The song is reminiscent of a nursery rhyme when first listened to. However, there are several subtle nuances within the lyrics that can be interpreted as relatable struggles during the Great Depression. The entire song is about someone loosing his or her yellow basket, which holds great importance to the individual. This notion can be looked at as any one person in America during that time that lost a house, money, or even a family member due to starvation or bad health. The lines “She took it she took it, my little yellow basket, and if she doesn’t bring it back I think that I will die” is a good place to start for proving the idea of America being referred to as the “she” who took the “basket,” which can represent important materials for survival. Another interesting section of the song is a call and response section where the singer sings the lines “Oh dear I wonder where my basket can be? Oh gee I wish that little girl I could see” and a group of singers responds with “so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we.” This may be looked at as a harmonious cry from those living in the poor conditions of the Great Depression. The song “Over the Rainbow,” originally written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, was published in 1939 and recorded by Judy Garland. While the song was written specifically for the character of Dorothy wanting to leave her home in Kansas to see the world, the song can also be a figurative representation of hopefulness for a better world after The Depression. “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” The land heard of from far away and long ago fits the idea of someone growing up during The Depression and hearing of the 1920s with the glamour and frivolousness. Dreaming about becoming a movie star or a top-notch lawyer was probably not something a lot of people living during The Depression thought nor talked much about. The goal was to get a steady job doing anything that would put food on the table. Hopes and dreams were not dead; they were put on pause, not to be tampered with until the country was fixed. “The Depression overwhelmed us, yes. It was terrible. But we had hope: This is not going to kill us” (Terkel,164). In the 1950s, America transformed.
The Depression ended because of all the jobs the war brought in once America joined forces with the British to put an end to the Nazi Party. The war ended in 1945 and from there, America took off in the direction of suburban homes and the industrial revolution. During the ‘50s, family values were very important to society. Things like divorce or single parenthood were very uncommon and evens sometimes looked down upon. Most women worked at home after having children and society was extremely segregated. Many popular songs that came out of this era came mainly from white-male singers. There was of course the notorious Rat Pack and following their lead as a group of four came The Four Aces, The Four Lads, and The Four Freshman. These three groups did not create solo careers for themselves like those in the Rat Pack did, however, they certainly held their own with popular billboard hits and sold-out concerts. The Four Lads had a popular song called “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” which to this day, continues to be referenced in pop culture. It is a light-hearted song with lines like “Every gal in Constantinople is a Miss-stanbul, not Constantinople so, if you’ve got a date in Constantinople she’ll be waiting in Istanbul.” The ‘50s can be seen as America’s Victorian period where things mattered at face value and everything “scandalous” was kept private. There was a way to go about living and anyone who lived differently than the norm was
looked at differently. Therefore, music as flighty as “Istanbul” was very popular song because it was neither dark nor complicated. Elvis Presley also rose out of the ‘50s and was one of the first contributors to the genre of Rock and Roll. Elvis was referred to as “The King of Rock n’ Roll” or simply “The King” in his day. He sang in the style of most artists during his time by singing covers others had written like “My Way,” “Always on My Mind,” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” “Hound Dog,” however, was arguably his most successful song. Interestingly enough, the tune was originally recorded by the black female vocalist “Big Mama” Thornton. Elvis did not record his version of the song until four years later, which turned out to be tremendously more successful – most likely because he already had a considerable amount of fame. The song itself is only two verses repeated three times with lyrics such as “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog cryin’ all the time. Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.” This not-so-light-hearted song was great introduction to the vulgar world of Rock and Roll that was to come in the next decade. These three decades possessed their ups and downs and the music that came from these different times reflect the characteristics of each era. These songs are fleeting moments of the past that help transport one into a different world. Listening and appreciating music of the past is a simple joy one should never be without. It is easier to understand the present if one pays attention to the past.

WORKS CITED

Terkel, Studs.
Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression. New York: Pantheon, 1970. Print.

SONG LYRICS

"Ain 't Misbehavin '"

No one to talk with, all by myself
No one to walk with, I 'm happy on the shelf babe
Ain 't misbehavin ', savin ' my love for you

I know for certain the one I love
I 'm through with flirtin ', you that I 'm thinkin ' of
Ain 't misbehavin '
Oh savin ' my love oh baby, love for you

Like Jack Horner in a corner
Don 't go nowhere and I don 't care
Oh your kisses worth waitin ' for, babe

I don 't stay out late, don 't care to go
I 'm home about eight, me and my radio, babe
Ain 't misbehavin '
Savin ' all my love for you

“Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)”

Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
In Spain, the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it
Not to mention the Finns
Folks in Siam do it
Think of Siamese twins
Some Argentines
Without means, do it
People say in Boston
Even beans do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
Romantic sponges
They say, do it
Oysters
down
In oyster bay do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
Cold Cape Cod clams
Against their wish do it
Even lazy jellyfish
Do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
Electric eels, I might add do it
Though it shocks them I know
Why ask if shad do it
Waiter bring me "Shad roe"
In shallow shoals, English soles, do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls, do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
The chimpanzees in the zoos, do it
Some courageous kangaroos, do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
I 'm sure giraffes on a sly do it
Heavy hippopotamus do it
Ooh, let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
Old clogs who hang down from twigs, do it
Though the effort is great
Sweet guinea pigs, do it
By a couple and wait, the world admits
Bears in pits, do it
Even Pekingeses in the Ritz, do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
That 's why birds do it
The dragonflies in the [Incomprehensible], do it
Sentimental centipedes, do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
Mosquitoes Heaven forbid
In shallow shoals, English soles, do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls, do it
Let 's do it
Let 's fall in love
“A-Tisket, A-Tasket”
A-tisket, a-tasket
A brown and yellow basket
I sent a letter to my mommy
On the way, I dropped it
I dropped it, I dropped it
Yes, on the way I dropped it
A little girlie picked it up
And put it in her pocket
She was truckin ' on down the avenue
But not a single thing to do
She went peck, peck, pecking all around
When she spied it on the ground
She took it, she took it
My little yellow basket
And if she doesn 't bring it back
I think that I will die
A-tisket, a-tasket
I lost my yellow basket
And if that girlie don 't return it
Don 't know what I 'll do
Oh dear, I wonder where my basket can be
(So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we)
Oh gee, I wish that little girl, I could see
(So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we)
Oh, why was I so careless with that basket of mine?
That itty bitty basket was a joy of mine
A-tisket, a-tasket
I lost my yellow basket
Won 't someone help me find my basket
And make me happy again, again?
(Was it green?)
No, no, no, no
(Was it red?)
No, no, no, no
(Was it blue?)
No, no, no, no
Just a little yellow basket
A little yellow basket
"Over The Rainbow"

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high there 's a land I heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Someday I 'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That 's where you 'll find me Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then oh why can 't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow why oh why can 't I?

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it 's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it 's Turkish delight on a moonlit night

Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you 've a date in Constantinople
She 'll be waiting in Istanbul

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can 't say
People just liked it better that way

So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can 't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That 's nobody 's business but the Turks

Istanbul (Istanbul)
Istanbul (Istanbul)

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can 't say
People just liked it better that way

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it 's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That 's nobody 's business but the Turks

So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can 't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That 's nobody 's business but the Turks

Istanbul

"Hound Dog"

You ain 't nothin ' but a hound dog cryin ' all the time.
You ain 't nothin ' but a hound dog cryin ' all the time.
Well, you ain 't never caught a rabbit and you ain 't no friend of mine.

When they said you was high classed, well, that was just a lie.
When they said you was high classed, well, that was just a lie.
You ain 't never caught a rabbit and you ain 't no friend of mine.