"Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You"
by Irving Kaufman
Sheet music courtesy of Lester Levy Sheet Music Collection |
A country whose borders had been an open door (cf. The Statue of Liberty) suddenly demanded gratitude from those it had previously welcomed with open arms. German ineptitude in espionage and propaganda only allowed Americans to see more clearly that no foreign-born national could be trusted. Finally the song writers had an issue that was worthy of their ink. They turned to it with a vengeance. The fable of the dog who bit the hand of he who had befriended him and was, subsequently, turned out of doors to his ultimate doom, was grist for a pointed warning that rings, astonishingly, like the warning given to another group of suspects in another American war—"Love it or leave it." Opening with a martial air promoted by the ubiquitous brass band, the message begins with a dream: "Last night as I lay a-sleeping, / a wonderful dream came to me. / I saw Uncle Sammy weeping / For His children from over the sea." The paternal nature of Uncle Sam was going to be one of the pervasive themes in the hysteria against "hyphenated-Americans." It was much the same theme heard in almost every household at one time or another: "as long as you live in this house—." It is not necessary to finish the threat. Uncle Sam would be benevolent and helpful and would care for and succor you as long as you saluted the flag, sang the right patriotic songs, and did nothing to bring suspicion and discredit on yourself or the nation. The song continues, "They [Uncle Sam's children] had come to him friendless and sobbing / When from tyrants' oppression they fled. / But now they abuse and revile him / Till at last in just anger he said . . ." The refrain, in clear, brutal terms makes it clear what is required:
If you don't like your Uncle Sammy,
Then go back to your home o'er the sea.
To the land from whence you came
Whatever be its name,
But don't be ungrateful to me.
It does not single out any specific group, but paints them all with same brush and demands that the colors match:
If you don't like the stars in Old Glory
If you don't like the red, white, and blue,
Then don't act like the cur in the story,
Don't bite the hand that's feeding you.
The strident tones of the arrangement, the shrill demands of the lyric are only exacerbated by the use of "cur" instead of "dog" or even "hound." "Cur" and "mongrel" were two of the words that were beginning to work their way into the press repertoire of terms reserved for the Kaiser and for it to be used here, only attaches the recording more securely to the anti-German sentiment while whipping up a general xenophobia. But the lyric is not through. The demand for gratitude becomes very detailed and precise and makes it clear that IF the U.S. needs them, it expects no less than the honorable upholding of the oath spoken to become a citizen. "You recall the day you landed," the immigrant is reminded, "How I welcomed you to my shore. / When you came here empty handed / And allegiance forever you swore. / I gathered you close to my bosom / Of food and of clothes, you got both / So, when in trouble I need you, you will have to remember your oath. / (refrain)." The lyric is as unforgiving as President Wilson's demands for crushing out "such creatures of passion, disloyalty, and anarchy," but it is a consistent sentiment for the recordings of the time.
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