I recently started shuffling through my brother Freds' collection of over 200 pieces of sheet music from the 1950s. He was an avid piano player and played the popular songs over and over again, and many are a bit tattered as a result.
It's a special collection for me because I spent a lot of time listening to him play the piano as were growing up. And it continued as we got older because he often entertained at the parties with his piano playing for sing-a-longs.
In the 1950s, sheet music was typically priced at 50 cents which is the equivalent of $5.38 in today's dollar. A stamp on the cover indicates that he purchased them at Dayton's in downtown Minneapolis. This was a well-known department store at the time that sold just about everything, including sheet music. They were published in New York City, which was home to the biggest music houses at that time.
The sheet music covers are interesting and often depict the artists who performed the original version of the song. However, I find the lyrics even more interesting and humorous at times. They tell a story of a time when things moved slower and life was perhaps a little gentler and kinder.
I searched through the collection to find some that related to travel, and I came up with quite a few. These were the days of the “golden age of travel” Scheduled commercial air travel was in its early days and still just a dream to most. Road trips were more common.
Here is what those vintage songwriters were saying about travel in the 1950s:
“When I'm Out With The Belle of New York” “..... It's a beautiful sight after dark, When we're strolling through Gramercy Park: The stars in her eyes, and stars up above just fill me with oceans and oceans of love; And my heart bobs around like a cork. When I'm out with the Belle of New York.”
“Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis” ….“Meet me in St Louis, Louis, Meet me at the Fair, Don't tell me the lights are shining any place by there, We will dance the Hooch-ee Kooch-ee, I will be your tootsie wootsie, Meet me in St. Louis, Lois, Meet me at the fair.”
“There's A Pawn Shop On a Corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania” “...By the pawn shop on a corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but I ain't got a thing left to hock. She was peaches, she was honey and she cost me all my money Cause a whirl round town was her dream....”
“Manhattan” “...We'll have Manhattan The Bronx and Staten Island too; It's lovely going through the Zoo; It's very fancy on old Delancey Street, you know; The subway warms us so, When balmy breezes blow To and Fro And tell me what street compares with Mott Street in July...”
“Shanghai” “...Why did I tell you I was going to Shanghai I wanna be with you tonight, ...It was just a little misunderstanding, that a kiss on the cheek could patch,...”
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” “...High on a hill, it calls to me. To be where little cable cars climb half-way to the starts! The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care...”
“Carolina in the Morning” “...Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning, No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her in the morning....”
“Tennessee Waltz” “...I was waltzing with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz when an old friend I happened to see. Introduced him to my loved one and while they were waltzing My friend stole my sweet-heart from me...”
“Shenandoah Waltz” In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia lives a girl who is waiting just for me. Oh how many times we've waltzed in the moonlight...”
“Oklahoma” “...O----k-la-hom-a, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain. And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet When the wind comes right behind the rain...”
“On the Riviera” “...If you look you see the people from Paree playing on the Riviera When there's ice and snow it's nice to go to Nice where the moon Claire de Lune is clairer. All the girls are gay and they parlais Francais any time, any place, any way...”
“Bermuda” “...Down in Bermuda, paradise for two, I lost my lover there on the blue. We went sailing on a coral sea, Starlit waters, my darling and me. Time was endless, Love sang its song,...”
“My Sunny Tennesee” “...I wanna be in Tennessee, In my Dixie paradise, An angel's voice I hear, I mean my mammy dear, I'd give my soul if I could stroll down among those hills again,..”
“Christmas in Killarney” “...The holly green, the ivy green, The prettiest picture you've ever seen is Christmas in Killarney, With all of the folks at home...”
“Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle” “...There's pretty girls in Singapore and the Phillippines, all along Kilarney's shore, Oh, the fair colleens! There's sweet Fifi from gay Paree and Wilhelmina, too but, Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle, I'm still in love with you....”
“Don't Ever Be Afraid to Go Home” “...Don't ever be afraid to go home, When you've hitched your wagon to a fast falling star And the last string is broken on your love-sick guitar, Whatever you're doing and wherever you are, Don't ever be afraid to go home...”
