[78-L] Old Soldiers Never Die

[Steven C. Barr]

From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
>  Was there REALLY an "old barracks ballad of that day" that Gen 
> MacArthur actually remembered??
> When I go to check the Vaughn Monroe recording I discover that the sheet 
> music says that words and music by Tom Glaser,
> http://image2.onlineauction.com/auctions//56164/znch-1244661-1.jpg
> and I assume he is given like credit on the RCA Victor record.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyDldGPTDNQ
> The lyrics of this song could very well be an "old barracks ballad", but 
> Tom Glaser isn't that old!  Unless he is just copyrighting a song that 
> actually is old.  They did that a lot.
> On the web there are lyrics of another song which certainly could not be 
> old.
> http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiOLDSLDD2.html
> 
It is/was a common practice to "compose" old "folk" tunes which were
otherwise not credited...?! Thus, there probably was such a song...but
it was most likely never copyrighted by a composer or publisher?!
"Old barracks ballads" were generally "handed down" verbally among
the soldiers in said barracks...and no one EVER wrote down, or tried
to copyright, the lyrics or music...?!

My relevant tune is one I copied from an otherwise-uncredited
"party record." The song is an elaboration of a riff created by
Luis Russell's Orchestra; the lyrics (and my title) run "Stick out
your can, here comes the garbage man." The riff was turned
into a song by western-swing player Milton Brown; however
when I put my version of the tune on my last CD release, I
claimed credit as "arranger" (my friend who recorded,
released and still [I hope] sells the CD was looking for songs
he DIDN'T have to pay publisher royalties on...?!).

There were, of course, songs which were so commonly heard
that it would have been effectively impossible to claim to have
"composed" them?!

I personally "collect" ribald (foul & obscene?!) tunes...I HOPE
there exists a web site dedicated to such tunes?

"There once was a man from Moline...?"

Steven C. Barr