deepundergroundpoetry.com
GAYLY COULD WE DANCE
(a sonnet)
Grew up on films of love in black and white.
Ziegfelds and Berkeleys putting on a Ritz,
With Spades and Marlowes in their foggy nights,
As Ricks’ and Ilsas' love defeats old Fritz.
The Rhetts' and Scarletts' love a Civil War.
The Rogers and Astaires, their love a dance,
With Grants’ and Hepburns' love a laughter's roar.
That tony dress and supper club romance.
I don’t possess top hat, white tie or tails.
My face will never grace the Derby's walls.
Lafite Château I’ll never hope assail.
No bellboys' scarlet suits announce my calls.
But gayly could we dance a desert moon,
While singing you a Roger’s cowboy tune.
Geoff Notes: it was pointed out that some of the references might be obscure... SO...
Lines:
1) WTBS Channel 17 out of Atlanta: morphed into TBS, TNT, AMC, ETC...
2) Flo Ziegfeld and Busby Berkeley produced Big Scene Musicals in the 20's and 30's, "Putting on the Ritz" is a song from 1929 by Irving Berlin.
3) Sam Spade (THE MALTESE FALCON) and Philip Marlowe (THE BIG SLEEP) were two of the more famous film noir private eyes.
4) Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund ill-fated lovers in the 1942 film CASABLANCA
5) Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara were lovers in the 1939 film GONE WITH THE WIND set in the south during the Civil War
6) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were dancers that appeared together in numerous films in the 30's including 1937's SHALL WE DANCE which inspired the title of the sonnet
7) Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn played lovers in the 1938 slapstick comedy BRING UP BABY.
8) Many of the 30's romances involved views of the higher life - dressing for dinner, supper clubs with floor shows, etc. It was the middle of the Great Depression and people wanted to be distracted from their financial woes.
9) Top hat, white tie and tails were a type of fine dress for a formal evening out
10) The Brown Derby in Los Angeles sported line drawings of the famous celebrities that had dined there
11) Château Lafite Rothschild in one of the long standing and premiere wine producers in Bordeaux France... a 1982 Château Lafite is currently priced on ebay for $3,999.00 a bottle
12) a standard in 30's romances was a bellboy in his red suit and pillbox cap walking through a hotel lobby/restaurant with a white phone calling out "call for (and the character's name).
13 & 14) ROLL ON TEXAS MOON - 1946 and SUNSET ON THE DESERT - 1942 were two films starring Roy Rogers - the singing cowboy - and Dale Evans. They met on the set, married and stay married from 1947 thru Roy's passing in 1998 (Dale passed in 2001).
Photo credit: public domain - Roy and Dale in Mexico...
Grew up on films of love in black and white.
Ziegfelds and Berkeleys putting on a Ritz,
With Spades and Marlowes in their foggy nights,
As Ricks’ and Ilsas' love defeats old Fritz.
The Rhetts' and Scarletts' love a Civil War.
The Rogers and Astaires, their love a dance,
With Grants’ and Hepburns' love a laughter's roar.
That tony dress and supper club romance.
I don’t possess top hat, white tie or tails.
My face will never grace the Derby's walls.
Lafite Château I’ll never hope assail.
No bellboys' scarlet suits announce my calls.
But gayly could we dance a desert moon,
While singing you a Roger’s cowboy tune.
Geoff Notes: it was pointed out that some of the references might be obscure... SO...
Lines:
1) WTBS Channel 17 out of Atlanta: morphed into TBS, TNT, AMC, ETC...
2) Flo Ziegfeld and Busby Berkeley produced Big Scene Musicals in the 20's and 30's, "Putting on the Ritz" is a song from 1929 by Irving Berlin.
3) Sam Spade (THE MALTESE FALCON) and Philip Marlowe (THE BIG SLEEP) were two of the more famous film noir private eyes.
4) Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund ill-fated lovers in the 1942 film CASABLANCA
5) Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara were lovers in the 1939 film GONE WITH THE WIND set in the south during the Civil War
6) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were dancers that appeared together in numerous films in the 30's including 1937's SHALL WE DANCE which inspired the title of the sonnet
7) Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn played lovers in the 1938 slapstick comedy BRING UP BABY.
8) Many of the 30's romances involved views of the higher life - dressing for dinner, supper clubs with floor shows, etc. It was the middle of the Great Depression and people wanted to be distracted from their financial woes.
9) Top hat, white tie and tails were a type of fine dress for a formal evening out
10) The Brown Derby in Los Angeles sported line drawings of the famous celebrities that had dined there
11) Château Lafite Rothschild in one of the long standing and premiere wine producers in Bordeaux France... a 1982 Château Lafite is currently priced on ebay for $3,999.00 a bottle
12) a standard in 30's romances was a bellboy in his red suit and pillbox cap walking through a hotel lobby/restaurant with a white phone calling out "call for (and the character's name).
13 & 14) ROLL ON TEXAS MOON - 1946 and SUNSET ON THE DESERT - 1942 were two films starring Roy Rogers - the singing cowboy - and Dale Evans. They met on the set, married and stay married from 1947 thru Roy's passing in 1998 (Dale passed in 2001).
Photo credit: public domain - Roy and Dale in Mexico...
Published 2nd Dec 2016
| Edited 3rd Dec 2016
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