Alice Faye was a famous American actress and singer between 1930s and 1940s. Only at 13, she dreamt of becoming a showgirl. Therefore, she lied about her age and projected herself to be of 16 years to acquire a role that she desired. During the early 1930s, Alice was a singer for the Rudy Valle band and she managed to reach to the top with the help of the film “George White’s Scandals”. By 1938, subsequent to featuring in pictures such as “In Old Chicago,” “Alexander's Ragtime Band,” “Rose of Washington Square,” and “Lillian Russell,” Alice was being looked up as a top box-office draw. She also became the queen of the Hollywood musical. She also developed a unique style of her own that portrayed her as a mediocre actress. She was voted America’s No.1 Female song-plugger by the celebrated composers like Irving Berline, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Harry Warren. “There's something about the way Alice projects a song that spells immediate success for it” was what the Tin Pan Alley songsmiths opined of Alice. It was in 1945 that 20th Century-Fox flooded her with scripts. Subsequently she signed up for a spectacular role in “Fallen Angel” It was only after attending a special screening of the finished film that she learnt about the editing done by Mr. Zanuck that resulted in the removal of her best scenes from the film. Furious at this she instantly left the studio not to return for the next sixteen years. The New York Times quoted of her as “one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career.” She shifted her domain from movies to radio. “The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show” and “Fitch Bandwagon” were the two most top rated comedy shows with music in which Alice featured with husband Phil Harris. It was in 1962 that she made a comeback to 20th Century-Fox to play a role in the third version of “State Fair” Also, she appeared on a lot of celebrated TV shows - “Hollywood Palace”, “Phil Harris Special”, “Red Skelton Show” and “Perry Como Show”. She breathed her last on May 9, 1998. Some of her songs that reflect a woman’s wishes are “Now It Can Be Told”, “Slumming on Park Avenue”, and “You'll Never Know”.
The song “Now It Can Be Told” depicts a woman who desires of a man who would immensely love her and happens to find him one day.
All the world's great lovers have been glorified
History placed them in a romantic set
In between book covers they are side by side
But the real thing hasn't been written yet
Now it can be told
Told in all its glory
Now that we have met
The world may know the sentimental story
The greatest romance they ever knew
Is waiting to
Unfold
Now it can be told
As an inspiration
Every other tale
Of boy meets girl is just an imitation
The great love story
Has never been told before
But now
Now it can be told
The first stanza of the song reads, “All the world’s great lovers have been glorified But the real thing hasn’t been written yet.” It means the woman could not find a great man to love her in the past. The following lyrics say “Now it can be toldThe great love story, has never been told before. But now, now it can be told.” It means, she finally found a great man who loves her so much and she can tell everybody that she found him. This song is very much like the one we heard in the class, “My Reverie”, “Why was I born” and “Love for Sale”. These songs also talk about the women in 1930-1940 who wanted to have men to protect them and love them. These women never desired anything else from men except true love.
The song “Slumming on Park Avenue” reflected the life in the 1930s; a lot of men lost their job and became so poor. “Slumming on Park Avenue” sheds light on a woman who does not care about her man’s affluence or poverty.
Put on your slumming clothes and get your car
Let's go sightseeing where the high-toned people are
Come on, there's lots of fun in store for you
See how the other half lives on park avenue
Let's go slumming, take me slumming
Let's go slumming on park avenue
Let us hide behind a pair of fancy glasses
And make faces when a member of the classes passes
Let's go smelling where they're dwelling
Sniffing ev'rything the way they do
Let us go to it, they do it
Why can't we do it too?
Let's go slumming, nose thumbing, on park avenue
[2nd chorus:]
Let's go slumming, take me slumming
Let's go slumming on park avenue
Where the social hearts for broadway lights are throbbing
And they spend their nights in smart cafes hobknobbing, snobbing
Come let's eye them, pass right by them
Looking down our noses as they do
Let us go to it, they do it
Why can't we do it too?
Let's go slumming, crumb bumming, on park avenue
The lyrics of this song in most of the sentences imply that the man is poor. The lyrics that imply such meaning are “Let’s go slumming, take me slumming. Let’s go slumming on Park avenue.” Park Avenue through the 1930s was known as the street where the rich people lived. During that time, many men lost their jobs, they were poor. They did not want to be looked down upon by the rich people. However, the lyrics say “Come let's eye them, pass right by them. Looking down our noses as they do. Let us go to it, they do it. Why can't we do it too? Let's go slumming, crumb bumming, on Park Avenue.” It means the woman in the song does not care how the rich people look at them. She gives the confidence to her lover, and tells him that he is the only one. In class, we heard the song “You’re the Top”. According to the lyrics, “You’re the top! You’re the Colosseum.Louvre Museum. I’m a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop, But if, Baby, I’m the bottom, You’re the top!” The woman’s voice in the music clearly reflects her intentions of making her lover think that he is much better than her. The foremost thing common in both songs of “Slumming on Park Avenue” and “You’re the Top” is the woman who wants to give confidence to her lover. The woman hopes that her man does not care about what other people think and talk about him because he is the best in his women’s view.
The song “You’ll Never Know” was introduced in a 1943 movie Hello, Frisco which was sung by Alice Faye. It was also performed by Faye in the 1944 film Four Jills in a Jeep. The song is often credited as Faye's signature song. However, Faye never made a recording of the ballad and in later years, frequent covers of the song diminished her association with it. The song “You’ll Never Know” is about a woman who really likes a man, but the man still leaves her behind to become a part of the war.
You'll never know just how much I love you,
You'll never know just how much I care.
And if I tried
I still couldn't hide
My love for you
You ought to know
For haven't I told you so
A million or more times?
You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every pray
If there is some other way
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now
How I miss you
I speak your name in my every pray
If there is some other way
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now…
Based on the repeated lyrics “You’ll never know just how much I love you, You’ll never know just how much I Care.” It shows that he does not believe that she loves him, because he thinks that she is “playing” with him. The girl already expresses her love for him a million times. This song is very similar to the song that we heard in the class, “Trust in Me.” This song is also about a man he does not trust the woman who says that she loves him. Both songs belong to the period of 1930s. That was a period when women were still in a dependent situation and waited for their men to start trusting them. Until the men did something, the women were resource less. And when he does trust her, the plan is not for equal partnership, but rather for her to be in charge. The idea of equal footing was so unfamiliar in those times, what prevailed was the situation where one or the other will be dominant the other one in control.
Conclusion: From the songs “Now It Can Be Told”, “Slumming on Park Avenue”, and “You'll Never Know” we can understand how women suffered during the Great Depression and World War II. Earlier women looked up to men as safe haven that can provide them with financial and emotional security. However, men are no longer providing women with a good financial and emotional security, because of the considerable changes in the society and the economic recession. Therefore, women have to find out their way to protect themselves and continue their life.
References
1. Marcic, Dorothy. Respect: Women and Popular music. Texere, 2002. Print.
