As an American Jew, Irving Berlin felt a tremendous patriotic pride and he had a talent for writing music that transcended ethic groups. He could write whatever the market demanded. God Bless America had become so popular in such a short time that there was a movement to replace the newly codified Star Spangle Banner as our national anthem.
Mind you, “God Bless America” was not always so universally beloved. Protests were incited by the anti-Semites of the late 1930s, the clerics and columnists that Philip Roth brings to frightening life in his novel The Plot Against America, a nightmare version of history in which Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin Roosevelt for the presidency. [1]
Indeed, as a deuteron-Philip Roth exults, “God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and then he gave to Irving Berlin ‘Easter Parade’ and ‘White Christmas.’ The two holidays that celebrate the divinity of Christ…and what does Irving Berlin brilliantly do?” The lapidary reply is that “he de-Christs them both! Easter he turns into a fashion show and Christmas into a holiday about snow.”[2]
No comments:
Post a Comment