Hope and laughter. Amy today we pay to be to the blacklisted lyricist yip harburg. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Today, we pay tribute to yip harburg. His name may not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world, like jazz singer abbey lincoln. Being crosby saying that. Yip harburg wrote it. I built a railroad i built a railroad, now its done brother, can you spare a dime amy and tom waits. Bricks and mortar amy judy collins, and dr. John from new orleans. And peter yarrow. Is al jolson, and our beloved odetta. Dime you spare a you spare a dime amy brother, can you spare a dime . May well be a new anthem for many americans. The lyrics to that classic american song were written by yip harburg. He was blacklisted during the mccarthy era. During his career as a lyricist, yip harburg used his words to express antiracist, proworker messages. Hes best known for writing the lyri
But we could hand down our songs, which still hang on to hope and laughter. Amy today we pay to be to the blacklisted lyricist yip harburg. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Today, we pay tribute to yip harburg. His name may not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world, like jazz singer abbey lincoln. Being crosby saying that. Yip harburg wrote it. I built a railroad i built a railroad, now its done brother, can you spare a dime amy and tom waits. Bricks and mortar amy judy collins, and dr. John from new orleans. And peter yarrow. Is al jolson, and our beloved odetta. Dime you spare a you spare a dime amy brother, can you spare a dime . May well be a new anthem for many americans. The lyrics to that classic american song were written by yip harburg. He was blacklisted during the mccarthy era. During his career as a lyricist, yip harburg used his words to express antiracist
Then upon her death left. It was opened as a Public Museum in 1963. We are now more than 50 years as an institution in washington, d. C. It is good to see all of you here tonight. Our program is entitled smile while you kiss me sad adieu. World war i songs. Let me introduce our speaker quickly. We like to remind people here that president wilson imagines a world at peace and proposed a plan to achieve that vision. That is a remarkable accomplishment when we take about it from the Vantage Point of our lives 100 years later. It is more remarkable if we transport ourselves back to his time and think about the world in which he lived and the ideas that were abroad at the time and the remarkable accomplishment that it was for him in the middle of a world war to imagine what the world ought to look like at peace and propose that that should be our default position, that there ought to be a league of nations and nations ought not to engage in aggressive war. This house allows us to take that
On the surface of things, we , t dont stand a chance. Hat but i cant believe that. I have to believe that there is hope. I have to believe that the y. Upcoming generations will see through all this buying of democracy, will see through the neocons always going for their gun first. I think the kids today are smart, i think that they will see through on this, and i think eventually they will find their, way of protesting. Ontin the way i was brought up is to speak my mind through music. And thats what ill continue to do as long as im on this side of the grass. M let me respeak myself. The idea that crosby, stillsr nash, crosby, stills, nash young, youve had different combinations, but theres alwayb been great harmonies of songs that moved us, made us think a a little more. Youre 72 years old, as you said, and clearly youve had a t long career. Whats next with the relevance of the songs you perform and music you continue to write speaks not just to our. Generation but to younger nned gene
The trip back in time. Were surrounded in this room by gifts of state that president wilson received. One of the reasons he received so many spectacular gifts, frankly, is first, because he was the First American president to go to europe while he was in office. But secondly, because the world so fervently hoped for him to succeed in the mission he had taken on, of ending the catastrophe that was world war i. I think its hard for us to think now about how shocking world war i was to the people who had to live through it. And so the music of that era, to that time. I think as youll see this afternoon, hearing from michael, a lot of sense of music that existed and the america that existed before the war, and the muse that i can reveals to us the america that came out of that war. Youll see something of a transformation there. Michael lasser is a lecturer, writer, broadcaster, critic, and teacher about american music. Ive written it down, because hes written two books that i want to share