Yesterday in La Crosse
Christmas isn’t the only holiday to sing about
Some 12 score years ago, our forefathers declared independence on the 4th of July. And many songwriters have included that date in their lyrics. Chicago did so in the 1970’s…”Saturday in the park, I think it was the 4th of July.”
A century ago, George M. Cohan claimed he was “born on the 4th of July” in his song “The Yankee Doodle Boy.” Jimmy Cagney won an Oscar for singing it in the movies. In the 50’s, Maurice Chevalier did his own version on TV, with Desi Arnaz conducting. Chevalier sang that he had a “Yankee Doodle sweetheart” who was “like Marilyn Monroe.”
Elton John may not be a Yankee Doodle Boy, but around the time of the Bicentennial, he sang about “Philadelphia Freedom” and about a girl named “Pinky,”
who’s “as perfect as the 4th of July.”
And what would 4th of July be without fireworks? Leave that one to Katy Perry. In “Firework,” she sings “Just own the night like the 4th of July.”
May the 4th be with you.