The continuing talk about economic recession and depression got me thinking about the depiction of freeloaders and transients on records during the 1920's and 1930's. There were a great many transients in those days, particularly during the Great Depression -- poor down-and-out souls who rode around on rail cars, looking for a day's work or a handout to keep from starving.
Generally speaking, songs and films about freeloaders playfully chastised them, but usually stopped short of any direct condemnation of them or their lifestyle. In films, they were often characterized as harmless social misfits or misunderstood individuals. They were usually turned into comic foils, but oftentimes they would be given the chance to redeem themselves through the display of heroics. (A classic example is Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" character in his masterpiece Modern Times.)
Songs that gave voice to the freeloaders themselves usually characterized them as basically good-hearted individuals who were simply too busy daydreaming to hold a steady job.
Here is a collection of records that deal with laziness, going "on the bum," and daydreaming:
Harry McClintock, also known as "Haywire Mac," was a prolific country music singer during the early half of the twentieth century. Throughout his colorful life as a cowboy, oil field roughneck, transient, and lifetime supporter of the Industrial Workers of the World, he sang and wrote dozens of songs about the everyday lives of laborers. His most enduring song is probably "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Here are two songs recorded by Mac in 1928: "The Bum Song," and "Hallelujah! I'm A Bum," an acerbic parody of the Salvation Army hymn "Revive Us Again."
Download Harry McClintock - The Bum Song.mp3
Download Harry McClintock - Hallelujah! I'm A Bum.mp3
George Moran and Charles Mack were vaudeville comedians who became household names in the late 1920's through their recordings of blackface comedy routines. Wikipedia notes,
Although their gags were mostly corny (and very often non-racial) and the characters were stereotypical (one practical but naive, the other seemingly slow and lazy yet quick with a quip and a certain skewed logic), the relationship [between the characters] plus their laconic delivery made them one of the most successful of comedy teams.
Here is Moran and Mack's first runaway hit: "Two Black Crows - The Early Bird Catches The Worm"
Download Two Black Crows - The Early Bird Gets The Worm.mp3
One of Hoagy Carmichael's lesser-known songs today is "Lazybones," even though it was a hit in the 1930's and spawned several memorable versions. I had originally planned to include the Casa Loma Orchestra's record of "Lazybones" in this post, but a little searching turned up this great version of the song sung by Hoagy himself, on a 1940's Soundie film:
Incidentally, Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics to "Lazybones."
Finally, here is the classic Dave Franklin song "I Ain't Lazy, I'm Just Dreamin'." I included a video of Irene Taylor singing this song in an earlier post, but I think that the song deserves another hearing. Isham Jones and his Orchestra recorded it with vocalist Eddie Stone for Victor in 1934:
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