Rudy Vallee - Brother can you spare a dime (1931)

[ILUVBTR4LIFEROCKS449]

Omg this song is sooooooo boring I hate history ehy do we have to learn about people that is dead maybe i don't understand because i am only 14 I<3BTR

[belebele137]

God Knows, we all knows, The Moral of life is to Choose carefully and spend time wisely

[Tori1012]

Oh Decathlon First you get Tic Toc Choc and La Marseillaise stuck in my head, now it's Woody Guthrie and Rudy Vallee. :)

[Viperclarkx01]

Anyone else upset that this video has ads on it at the start now?

[Charles87sf]

I hear this and I think Fallout 3... Anyone else!?

[ki1ng]

Damn you decathlon, got this stuck in my head.

[reubenroo]

SUPERB! Thank you

[shaunthonys]

Actually, bring on the German speak. Look at all the cool shit they had!

[rgaleny]

the international ideal unites the human race.

[Zeppelinfaktor]

4 People didn't go slogging through hell

[AvidCuber]

Four people can't spare a dime.

[pimpernell01]

Someone sample this for a bit of jump up, first bits rude, probabley why they called him Rudy.

[bleevlee]

@smeagol321

Rage much?

[IrishHaloNerd]

Academic Decathlon 2010

[MHallGH145]

@IrishHaloNerd YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS­SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I'm on the team and this is like the best song of the selected works

[barrelracingbrick]

Great song. I'm 14, and this is as good as music gets! All this rap and what-not drives me insane. People my age should be exposed more greatly to 'REAL' music.

Thanks for the upload!

[smeagol321]

@barrelracingbrick

Shut your whore mouth it's a matter of opinion. Some people like rap, some people like rock, some people like classical musical. Shut the fuck up and deal with it.

[evelynann84]

Sad, dark, and dank, but I like it.

[goldbird29]

This is the USSR-version of the song.

/watch?v=0fIArCCd2Ag

[tadiscool312]

Okay here are a few things:

1. This song was nothing more than to show a man's anger at the Great Depression. Yip Harburg only wrote this song because this is what he heard on every street corner during the Depression. There was not economic theory behind it or anything.

2. thefearpioneer sums it up best in his post. That's what happened. Roosevelt's administration was Keynesian before Keynesian theory was around.

That is all.

[morginnnXD]

@tadiscool312 hey

[tadiscool312]

@morginnnXD Hello there.

[thefearpioneer]

@mjvvliet1 Keynesian economics state that the best way to stabilize the economy is to spend more on public improvement and relief. This song, if anything, is asking for more Keynesian economic decisions.

[rabbidfrog91]

Anyone else know this song from Academic Decathalon?

[tadiscool312]

@rabbidfrog91 Haha. What state are you from?

[rabbidfrog91]

@tadiscool312 Wisconsin. How about you?

[tadiscool312]

@rabbidfrog91 Texas. Wisconsin? Waukesha West perhaps?

[rabbidfrog91]

@tadiscool312 Hah I wish! They're the best we got. But I'm from McFarland.

[tadiscool312]

@rabbidfrog91 Ah. Well I'm from Dobie. We're almost there. 3rd in State lat year. How does your team usually do?

[taylortoxicx3]

acadec 10-11 ftw

[NoTomHere]

@taylortoxicx3 I totally agree. This is one of my favorites from the music.

[GEORGE4EARL]

This song, and the lyrics therein, sure spell out the time we are in right now! Sure, it's the 21st century and we've taken big steps socially, but is good ol' Washington and the folks therein really coming through? I do not think so.

[mjvvliet1]

This song speaks to the failures of Keynesian Economics. Public spending on infrastructure to stimulate the slowing econonmy - it has never worked, and never will. It turns recessions into depressions like it did in the 30's, and like it is doing now.

[1276epr]

@mjvvliet1 it actually relates to the superficial false prosperity of the '20s that caused the unbelievable crash that followed.

[DaftVapor]

@mjvvliet1 how could this song be talking about the failure of Keynesian economics if it was written in 1931, long before anything resembling Keynesianism was practiced in the US?

[tadiscool312]

@DaftVapor While you are right, the Roosevelt administration did take on a Keynesian tone. It was Keynesian before Keynesian was around, pretty much.

[DaftVapor]

@tadiscool312 Even if I granted that, which I don't, you run into the same problem. Hoover was still president in '31.

[thefearpioneer]

@DaftVapor This song was written almost requesting Keynesian style economics. They weren't known as Keynesian economics at the time, but that is essentially what the song calls for. And while Roosevelt's administration is associated with Keynesian economics, and was the first administration to follow them so rigidly, the idea was around before it. So yes, the song is calling for a Keynesian-style economic policy, despite the fact that Keynesian economics as a term was not yet coined. IKE C team.

[thefearpioneer]

@thefearpioneer Goin' down Waukesha West XD

[Ziplock74]

he's my 7th cousin twice removed.

[strwbrryfldsfrvr0]

1930-70's best time for music :D

to bad i live in now >.< but at least it was recored :D

[Pianosyncrazy]

Great tune, thanks for the post. 5 Stars.

[Kazuya186999]

I'm a 24 year old young man. To be honest, I prefer music like this compared to the music of today. You can't listen to music today without something negative. We need a radio station here in Chicago that plays songs like these.

[amysluth147]

@Kazuya186999 Seriously!? Man i should move to Chicago

[dirksnider]

@Kazuya186999

i'm with you brother. 24 is a weird age. but not as weird as our situation on earth.

[frankydman]

To the 3 people who don't like this song:

You clearly don't know American History; otherwise you'd understand the meaning of this song

[rogharm]

beautiful arrangement great voice. love rudee. great minor key operatic orchestration. now its 1929 again in 2010. the country obombeda!!!! ROGHARM

[MrRedFredSaid]

Too bad that no one remembers. 

[vie2dtw]

The reality of the American Dream.

[bobzani]

My dear dad sang this when I was a little boy. He lived it.

[412southwolfestreet]

I LOVE THIS GREAT SONG !!!

[akilli1453]

Although Vallee was usually a little "effete", I like this version as much as the Crosby because of the orchestration. It's a little more emphatic and sentimental than Crosby's. (Catch the bugle call at the end.)

[ordogthemage]

Yeah, Mr99BOXER, you keep saying "yes sir I like it sir" and "squealing like a pig" but for the rest of us, let those that led us here never again hold any office, power, or influence in this land, let them rot in a prison for the rest of their lives..

[1967bigjohnny]

I remember my father god rest his soul telling me about the great deprestion and not one person has lent a lesson

[davedirk]

@1967bigjohnny My grandmother, 93 still tells me about it. What the greatest among the greatest generation there was....I absolutely love music from the late 1920's and early 30's...And like above from bigjohnny, we all need lessons on the great depression.

[412southwolfestreet]

@1967bigjohnny WHAT YOU SAY IS SO TRUE !!!

[1967bigjohnny]

Greed never changes, while the poor die

[412southwolfestreet]

@1967bigjohnny THIS IS TRUE WHAT YOU SAY !!!

[Froggy19510]

And we move ahead 79 years and this song becomes relevant again. How ironic. We are about to repeat history...Obama care, any one?

[smnfaw3]

I cant believe hoover thought this would make him win

[dans1120]

What are you talking about?

[smnfaw3]

Hoover asked Rudy Vallee to make a campaign song for him in the 1932 election. Back then the presidents made theme songs for what they were about. He was against Roosevelt who used the song "good times again".

[dans1120]

Rudy Vallee didn't write the song, though, he only performed it after it had become a hit.

I feel so awful for Hoover, he was a good man, but he was no good with the press, kept making mistakes and was saddled with his predecessors' mess and was unable to get out of it. I wouldn't have voted for him in 1932, but he earnestly did his best and left the presidency with far more grace than he was shown by his successor.

[smnfaw3]

ahh yes

[fluffydanny]

So fitting,isn't it?

[parrhasius]

Superb song , an anthem to the working class as many of t hem forget their roots .

The dark side of he American dream that many do experience.

[happy2bhere2day]

i HAVE TO AGREE WITH MR99BOXER.

[Mr99BOXER]

This song is terrific !!! The theme applys again to us in 2009 like it did in 1929. Please "world leaders" give us "Hope for a brighter Future" not this thing called "Change" spoken by every two-bit politician since Hitler.

[gell7]

@Mr99BOXER 2 bad we havnt learn from our pervious generation

of old durning that sad era of the great depression.

[theworldpeacexx]

@Mr99BOXER Honestly, there can be NO comparison between the Great Depression in 1929 and 2009..completely different times. :)

[plasticdevil3]

@theworldpeacexx Don't forget 1986. There was a crash again, right?

[theworldpeacexx]

@plasticdevil3 Indeed there was ;) I just don't think that is nearly as bad as the one in 1929..

[blacsouljah]

@theworldpeacexx  Got a feeling this what we're going through now at the dawn of the 21st century is going to be worse than the great depression.

[NakedCreep]

@Mr99BOXER Don't blame your brightless future on a single "world leader". You're in control.

[dewolf1997]

to much buying on credit!

[tuxguys]

I have new respect for Mr. Megaphone. This recording is great, captures everything, and compares extremely favorably to Jolson's.

Don't misunderstand the context of the lyric, kids: The vets of WW I, who built the transcontinental railroads and the Empire State Building, were in the same breadlines as everyone else, and didn't understand why. Very timely.

[IrishLincoln]

I feel the same damn way right now.

[ZoneFighter1]

The government made the depression worse. It was the war that ended it not the government.

[crunkss]

Kinda sounds like today, with the bailouts and stimulus packages.

The whole, government making it worse thing.

[dans1120]

You mean when Roosevelt established stricy price and wage controls and just about nationalized the entire economy? World War II was no act of small government, if you're saying that big government action made things worse.

[michaelmjharris]

It was Al all the time

[thesunassaulter]

This version is the best I think, thanks

[298625]

Check out the Al Jolson version.

[unabnats]

nice. Bing Crosby did it too. But, this version has a "swing" to it, making it ahead of it's time by a few years.

[MaryNo40]

All the poor souls went to war, came back with all sort of traumas, real and imagined. What did they get from those that sent them to die? Nothing!! Cast your minds back to all the 'POOR' ex politicians you have read about or might even know. I'd bet you don't know of any at all. They have lived on the back of hard-working taxpayers, using the taxes collected to 'feather their own nests'.Take more interest in what is happening....maybe you can change it.

[unabnats]

The reference to WWI and "sparing a dime" relates to the bonus money promised to WWI vets but not given to them early, which was desperately needed at the time. A "bonus army" formed on the capital mall to demand the bonus. Hoover called out the Army nationasl guard, under General McCarthur to break up the demonstration. Many were severely beaten, and at least 1 died,. This disgraceful episode in US History was mostly forgotten after WWII.

[bradbunnin]

The officer in charge of the disgraceful episode was Douglas MacArthur.

[40127c]

George Patton and a little known (Major, I think) named Dwight Eisenhower were also there; miserable bastards.

[Bayboy11235]

40127c, Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt strongly opposed the payment. 45,000 veterans calling themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force or Bonus Army marched on Washington in 1932 and were driven out by the Army. UNDER ORDERS OF THE PRESIDENT!!! Check the military oath, and be grateful we had Mac Arthur, Patton and Eisenhower. If we didn't, würden Sie in der Lage sein, Englisch heute zu sprechen? Forget Japanese, you wouldn't be here.

[40127c]

@Bayboy11235

I don't have to "check" the oath, dimwit; I took it many years ago. As for "they were "only under orders", that crap didn't fly at Nurenberg and it won't fly here, either. Kindly, get your head out of your ass before you shoot your mouth off. The smell is horrible.

[Bayboy11235]

Tsk, tsk, such a juvenile response while trying to compare Apples to Oranges. I guess following orders makes Roosevelt our Hitler? Then again, many did think that at the time.

[40127c]

@Bayboy11235

You're not only an idiot, you're a very tedious idiot. Now, buzz off before I get my fly swatter out.

[Bayboy11235]

Judging by your language one must assume that you were not an officer. However, one would give you credit for being a old Marine with an empty bottle.

You must know you didn't have an argument when you compare the US military being used to disperse squatters on federal land (demanding immediate payment of money they were due to recieve five years later) as a last resort, to Nazi war criminals. Godwin's Law, anyone? Thank you for your service. Dismissed! Now leave, bye. Its not a Chat room.

[unabnats]

slogging through hell means the muddy, dirty, horrifying TRENCHES used in WWI battlefields.

[phredl]

You could get it from me if I ever decided to sell it. But I don't think that's happening soon. also the song was recorded in Oct, 1932 so all of you that bought one in 1931 my hats off to you. It's a tough one to get it's on a Blue Wax Columbia and there very collectible.

[ArtsyPhilosophyGuy]

makes me want to ride the rails.

[dianamaryflorence]

This song reminds me of my life during the Great Depression. I was 31 when this song came out. I have been wealthy all of my life so I would give the poor people some money for food. I bought this record back in 1931 also.

[studedude43]

Am I to understand that you'd be an incredible 109 years old having been born in 1900?

[unabnats]

gee, if true, that makes you 107 or so.

[studedude43]

Edgar Harburg's lyrics pay homage to unemployed Great War veterans who marched on Washington, D.c. during the summer of 1932 askign their bonus payments be moved from 1945 to 1932. Their camps were burned, many were arrested, and send home with no money. Similar lament found in "Remember My forgotten Man" also from 1932.

[oaklandborn]

you're correct dave -- I said World War 1 VETS of whom my Grandfathers were both vets .

[raamsis]

What does he mean by "slogging through hell"?

beating ppl?

[ToDanceInTheRain]

He means World War 1, I think.

[coltrain210]

I think it just means kind of dragging your feet, reluctantly, unenthusiastically walking through the war fields.

[oaklandborn]

To those who have never read a history book - the song is abour WW1 vets NOT WW2 // And WW2 DID bring about an end to the Depression - 18% in 1939 // when all goods were rationed there was nothing to buy // production really began in 1946

[noidea63]

health insurance would be nice too

[laurainel]

Rudy Vallee's phrasing is right on! Great brass section...

[armyvet66]

Hey Edmundusrex, know where I can get a copy of this on 78 RPM?

[seantheiverson]

Obama's stimulus package is like the modern New Deal. It's only purpose is to make it seem like the government is doing something. In reality, what ended the Great Depression was World War II.

[Geraldolini]

Well....,there you go again! RR

[codyki]

So, ALLRIGHT then! Bring on World War III! What are we waiting for? Huh?

[Katochloe]

If you believe that the war ended the depression you believe in Keynes because it was the biggest government spending of all time. The government spending set up over employement.....women working 60 hours a week making bullets, guns, tanks and planes....boys employed as fodder in the army...the biggest spending of all time in any country done by the government.....same principle as the New Deal...it is amazing how ignorant some are

[seantheiverson]

I'm quite lost in what you're trying to say. To everyone that's not understanding my point, I'm not saying we need a war to end our current recession. I'm simply saying that the employment offered due to World War II caused the Great Depression to come to an end.

[avalsonline]

yeah, except we already have 2 wars going on. those are not helping, se what do we suggest we do?

[seantheiverson]

i never suggested war as a solution to our current problem. i'm only saying that was what ended the great depression...

[Pbirv]

WWII was of course the biggest government spending program in history.

[CrystalClearNews]

This needs a version done this year. By one of my boyfriends --he's got a good voice. I'd do it myself, but the lyrics are written for a man? But then, a woman can serve in the armed forces, too.

[TanasiTwo]

Brother, can you spare a trillion dollars?

America is staring this in the face again, watch closely what's happening. April/May......will be the 'dropping off the cliff' reality.

Call your reps and tell them NO to the proposed 'stimulus'. It's not going to help Americans when it's spreading pork around for all the special interests groups and delayed for years. Not gonna work.

Stock up on supplies that are necessities, and hold on. We're in for a spin.....

[seantheiverson]

It's time for Keynesian economics.

[avalsonline]

all financial experts, left and right, agree that we need the spending. if we cut spending, then the depression gets worse. those are the facts. bifg government spending is what got us our of great depression.

[ostrc]

Thanks for posting this. I consider it the best version of the song. Do check out the montage on the Jolson version posted on Youtube. Jolson's vocal style is pretty inaccessible to us today, though.

[ToddCMorgan]

I personally like Crosby's version the best, but this is my second favorite version!

[lennhart]

"Those who do not remember the past are DOOMED to repeat it!" --Georges Santayana

[MikeyViddyD]

Very apropos to what we are going through now. A great song which surely has inspired such truth-tellers as Pete Seeger and Mercedes Sosa.

[TheEnviousParrotHead]

Rudy's treatment of this song is my favorite version. Not even Bing Crosby's rendition can touch this.

[bill3murr]

great rudy and timely....thanks.

[pax41]

Doesn't seem possible that we can be repeating the same mistakes twice. I guess it's because people don't change no matter what generation.