"How 'Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm? (After They've Seen Paree)"
by Nora Bayes
Sheet music courtesy of Clarence Johnson |
"How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm?" is the question Ruben, an atypically wise rural type, asks his wife when she reminds him that the boys will be coming home. There is a certain amount of winking, foolery, and innuendo written into the song, but the question is real. After their encounters with the less contricted morality of war-time Europe, the freedom of an army marching anywhere they wish, and the cultural awakening certain to have occurred in places like "Paree" after the armistice, how could rural America compete with the excitement of "Broadway" and "Jazzin' Around?" This is the rip that eventually tore the fabric asunder.
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