1903

24. Dan W Quinn

The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous

Written by Dan McAvoy 

In 1903 the two major brewing companies in America were both of German origin, Anheuser Busch and Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, the latter based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and they advertised their major brand Schlitz as the beer that made Milwaukee famous. They competed with AB throughout the century to be the largest beer brewer in the USA and when the former company commissioned new lyrics to the song Down Where The Wurzberger Flows and retitled it Under The Anheuser Bush specifically for an advertising campaign for their major brand, Budweiser, Schlitz also took advantage of the song The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous, written for the Broadway musical extravaganza Mr Bluebeard and although the song did not mention Schlitz beer, their slogan was well known as was their other slogan, When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer. As for the song, it was another Irish number although not as complementary as It Takes The Irish To Beat The Dutch or There’s Nothing Too Good For The Irish. Quinn sang, when Roger McNally retired from the force he opened up a fine saloon, his daughter Nellie was the head cashier the waiter was a big black coon, he invited all of the city sports and all from City Hall, the Mayor he was there the judge was in the chair and some Alderman from St Paul, when Michael McClusky got up to make a speech somebody yelled sit down, Gilhooly the plumber says Mac you’re it, you could hear him way down town, they started to playing Kilkenny for me, Killarney’s lakes and hills, they turned out the lights had half a dozen fights, as you know the Irish will and the chorus which again referred to Germans as Dutch was, the big Dutch band the finest in the land played till five o clock, Mary Anne Breen she kicked the tambourine she woke the entire block, Marty McGee threw away the key that belonged to Murphy’s truck, and the beer that made Milwaukee famous made all New York drunk. 

25. Arthur Collins

Dat’s De Way To Spell Chicken

Written by Bob Slater & Sid Perrin

Arthur Collins was very prolific in the first half of the first decade of the twentieth century. By February 1903 he had achieved twelve hits, two of which had reached no.1 and quite a few were on the subject of black people, exaggerating and even inventing how they lived their lives, but never in a malicious way. That wasn’t the thing to do, one could make fun but most of the songs written about African-Americans, former slaves and their lives on the plantations, known as Coon songs, were composed by African-Americans themselves and it wasn’t to make money because most of them made virtually nothing out of the songs they composed and sold on to publishers. One such song was Dat’s De Way To Spell Chicken which went into detail about one morning in a school room, in a little country school house where the little darkies go, there is a little piccaninny by the name of Ragtime Joe, his ragtime brain worked fast he’s the only one who puts down his own plans, one day the teacher called the class to spell a certain bird, that kind of bird was chicken and they could not spell that word, so the teacher called on Ragtime Joe to spell that word for them, he did not hesitate a bit this is how he began, C that’s the way to begin, H that’s the next letter in, I that is the third, C time to season the bird, K that’s the smell of eggs, E I’m near the end, CHICKEN dat is de way to spell chicken. Although the method he used to remember the spelling was not exactly conventional, but you can’t deny that it worked and although he had nothing to say about the N, he did get the spelling right and the song made clear that the teacher had relied on Ragtime Joe before. One of the cleverest boys in the class. Arthur Collins took the song to no.8 which was not one of his biggest hits but a cute song about a little boy getting things correct in school.

26. Harry MacDonough                                             

Heidelberg     

Written by Gustav Luders & Frank Pixley

Heidelberg was a song from the musical comedy that ran on Broadway for several productions during the decade of the 1900s, The Prince Of Pilsen which was set in Nice, France and was a traditional drinking song, very different to the composers previous hit, The Tale Of A Bumble Bee which was also taken into the charts by Harry MacDonough but drinking songs were in vogue like Down Where The Wurzburger Flows although MacDonough was more used to singing about love than extolling the virtues of beer, so the song was a strange one for him to choose. Still it did provide him with his eleventh monthly no.2 single. The verse had the lyrics, better than riches of worldly wealth is a heart that’s always jolly, beaming with happiness hope and health and warmed by love divine, but sweeter than kisses we win by stealth are the hours we give to folly, so come let us clink but first let us drink one toast with the brimming stein and then the chorus was a rousing song to clash steins at the end of each line, here’s to the land which gave me birth, here’s to the flag she flies, here’s to her sons the best of earth, here’s to her smiling skies, here’s to a heart which beats for me, true as the stars above, here’s to the day when mine she’ll be, here’s to the girl I love.

27. Arthur Collins      

I’m A Jonah Man       

Written by Alex Rogers

I’m A Jonah Man was from the musical In Dahomey which was the first full-length musical written and played by negros on Broadway. It starred the leading African American comedians Bert Williams & George Walker and also Alex Rogers who wrote the song to be sung by Williams as the character Shylock. In the show, the two con-men suffer from bad luck and Alex Rogers wrote the song I’m A Jonah Man based on a long-established expression among sailors which uses the term a Jonah to mean a sailor or a passenger whose presence on board brings bad luck and endangers the ship, originally from the biblical story of Jonah who was commanded by God to preach in the city of Nineveh, but Jonah disobeys and flees on board a ship until a great storm arises and the other sailors decide that Jonah is to blame and throw him overboard. The song told of a man who was named Jonah and had bad luck and misfortune all his life, my hard luck started when I was born least so the old folks say, dat same hard luck been my best friend up to dis very day, when I was young my mamma’s friends to find a name they tried, they named me after papa and the same day papa died, for I’m a Jonah I’m a Jonah man, my family for many years would look on me and then shed tears, why am I dis Jonah I sure can’t understand, but I’m a good substantial full-fledged real first-class Jonah man. He then sang about some of the bad luck he had encountered, my brother once walked down the street and fell into a coal hole, he sued the man that owned the place and got ten thousand cold, I figured this was easy so I jumped in the same coal hole, broke both my legs and the judge gave me one year for stealin’ coal. A verse that Collins did not use had another example, a friend of mine gave me a six-month meal ticket one day, he said it won’t do me no good I’ve got to go away, I thanked him as my heart wid joy and gratitude did bound, but when I reached the restaurant the place had just burned down, for I’m a Jonah I’m a Jonah man.

28. Billy Murray

It Takes The Irish To Beat The Dutch

Written by Edward Madden & Theodore F Morse

In the early part of the century, like virtually all other eras, most songs were about love, but in the first decade of the 1900s a lot of songs were about race or class, they sang about black people, the sang about rural country folk and they sang about the Irish. The Irish immigrant community in the USA was large and educated and they were able to fight back with their own songs defending their nation. One such major singer was Billy Murray, born in Philadelphia to Irish parents, he sang about how wonderful the USA was but also about his recent ancestors in Ireland. One such song was the 1903 song It Takes The Irish To Beat The Dutch and by Dutch he meant the Germans because he was really referring to Deutsch. The song began by praising the Germans saying they are a mighty race improving every year, they lead the world in science sauerkraut and lager beer, however Murray soon sings that they’re not that great and the race surpassing them is the Irish, but there’s a race surpassing them in this world and the next, and on the tomb of Germany someday you’ll read this text, it takes the Irish to beat the Dutch, what the Irish can’t accomplish it don’t amount to much, with their scientific tricks they could never fool the Micks, you can bet it takes the Irish to beat the Dutch.

29. Bob Roberts

I’ve Got To Go Now Cause I Think It’s Going To Rain

Written by Nat Osborne & Ed Rose

Bob Roberts sang about Bill Henry who didn’t have much money, but he liked a good time, Bill Henry is a short fat coon, the boys all call him Hen, out for a time he very seldom went, but one night he got mixed up with some other coloured men, and they all though he’d blow to his last cent, they kept on treating this here coon and every one took beer, so finally Hen says well I guess I’ll buy, but when they ordered champagne, he didn’t seem to hear, just grabbed his coat made for the door and then they heard him cry, to a masquerade he went one night, met a girl dressed like a queen, he signed her program for most every dance, he filled her up on lemonade, bought candy and ice cream, and kissed her every time he got a chance, at midnight when they all unmasked, his face turned black and blue, his girl could almost talk in her own ear, she looked two ways for Sunday, but she stuck  to him like glue, until he said with bowed down head in accents loud and clear, I’ve got to go now cause I think it’s going to rain, I left my umbrella home, that will explain, I like your company aint it an awful shame, I’ve got to go home now cause I think it’s going to rain. He may have been a short fat coon, but he wasn’t going to be taken advantage of by anybody.

30. SH Dudley

Nobody’s Looking But The Owl And The Moon

Written by Rosamond j Johnson, James Weldon Johnson & Bob Cole

SH Dudley wanted to make love with his girl but she was afraid that somebody would be spying on them and if that be the case, the worst that could happen may be that they would tell her parents. Dudley tried to reassure her, de ribber is a glistenin’ in de moonlight Honey, de owl is settin’ high up in de tree, de little stars am twinklin’ wid a soft light Honey, de night seems only just for you and me, thro’ de trees de breezes am a sighin’, breathin’ out a sort o lover’s croon, der’s nobody lookin’ or a spyin’, nobody but de owl an’ de moon, nobody’s lookin’ but de owl and de moon, de night is balmy for de month is June, den my little Honey Honey come to meet me soon, while nobody’s lookin’ but de owl and de moon. I feel so kinda lonely all de daytime Honey, it seems I really don’t know what to do, I just keep sort a longin’ for de nightime Honey, cause den I knows dat I will be wid you, and de thought just sets my brain a swayin’ and my heart a beatin’ to a tune, come de owl won’t tell what we’s a sayin’ and cos you know we can trust de moon.

1904