That Bouyant Human Spirit

One of the things to remember about the Great Depression era is that not all people were always depressed. It was a difficult time, but many folks learned to laugh and sing about it. The following song, written some years before the 1929 stock market crash, continued to be popular. It expresses that bouyant human spirit that will not give up. There are always things worth smiling about, winter or summer, in between times. And look, we're the parents of twins. Are we downhearted? Nope, We've only started. Ain't we got fun?

Lyricists for Ain't We Got Fun were Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn.

Throughout the 20s and into the 1930s, Egan collaborated with several composers including Walter Donaldson, Ted Fio Rito, Harry Tierney, Richard Whiting and Gus Kahn. 

Highlights from his catalog include

• They Called it Dixieland,
• Mammys Little Coal Black Rose,
• Till We Meet Again,
• Where the Morning Glories Grow,
• Aint We Got Fun?
• In a Little While,
• Tea Leaves,
• SleepyTime Gal,
• Mona Lisa, and many others.

Raymond Egan died in Westport, Connecticut on October 13, 1952.

Co-lyricist Gus Kahn was born in Coblenz, Germany on November 6, 1886. 

In his early days, Kahn wrote special material for vaudeville and at the age of 20, his first song, My Dreamy China Lady, was published. From the time of that publication through the 1940s, Kahn contributed to Broadway scores such as

• Kitty's Kisses,
• Whoopee, Show Girl,
• Sinbad,
• Passing Show of 1922, and
• Greenwich Village Follies of 1923.

Concurrently, he wrote several hits for films, primarily MGM produced features.
By 1933, Kahn had become a full time motion picture songwriter contributing to

• Flying Down to Rio,
• Kid Millions,
• Thanks a Million,
• A Day at the Races,
• Everybody Sing, and others.

The Gus Kahn catalog is one of the greatest collections of enduring standards, including

• It Had To Be You,
• I Wish I Had a Girl,
• Carolina in the Morning,
• No, No, Nora,
• Ill See You in My Dreams,
• Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye,
• On the Alamo, Think of Me,
• Memories,
• Side by Side,
• Yes, Sir, That's My Baby!
• The Waltz You Saved for Me,
• Dream a Little Dream of Me,
• Flying Down to Rio,
• You Stepped Out of a Dream, and many others

Gus Kahn died in Beverly Hills, California on October 8, 1941.

____________________

AIN’T WE GOT FUN
Words by Gus Kahn and Raymond B. Egan. Music by Richard Whiting, 
1921

.
Here's a sample.

Verse 1

Bill collectors gather 'round and rather haunt the cottage next door,
 

Men the grocer and butcher sent, 

Men who call for the rent.
 

But within a happy chappy and his bride of only a year,
 

Seem to be so cheerful, 

Here's an ear full of the chatter you hear.

Chorus 1

 -
Ev'ry morning
Ev'ry evening                                              
Ain't We Got Fun?                                                 
Not much money,                                            
Oh but honey,                                                   
Ain't We Got Fun
?                                                                   
The rent's unpaid dear,                                                      
We haven't a bus,
                                                                       
But smiles were made dear, for people like us
.                                       
In the winter, in the summer,                                               
Don't we have fun?                                                                 
Times are bum and getting bummer,                                  
Still we have fun
.                                                            
There's nothing surer,                                                      
The rich get rich and the poor get children.                            
In the meantime,                                                  
In between time,                                                           
Ain't We Got fun?
____________
It's nearly ninety years since that song was written, but it still reminds us of the importance of looking beyond the moment, of focusing upon the many things that are going right, our daily blessings amidst the difficulties of life.