America Never Took Water
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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/edc94170-c556-0134-2373-0050569601ca-4Supplementary Document
Descriptive Information
Title | America Never Took Water |
Alternative Title | Cover, p. 2, top: America Never Took Water / And America Never Will |
Composer | |
Lyricist | |
Publisher | M. Witmark & Sons |
Place of Publication | New York (N.Y.) |
Year of Publication | 1919 |
Date of Copyright | 1919-03-07 |
Physical Description | 1 score, voice and piano ([1], 2-3, [1] p.) |
Comment | The eighteenth amendment to the Constitution was officially ratified on January 16, 1919, and this song was probably written shortly afterwards. Because the topic was so immediate, Witmark rushed it into production and promotion, It enjoyed short-lived but intense popularity, primarily in vaudeville; interest waned after March 1919, as enforcement of the Wartime Prohibition Act—effectively the first step to prohibition—approached. After July, with that act in place and total prohibition to come six months later, the song quickly receded from view. |
Historical Note |
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Musical Note | A typical novelty one- or two-step in 2/4, animated by pervasive mild syncopation and many chromatic inflections; a ritard and fermata at the climax, with an ossia high note at the end. |
Subject - Topic | |
Lyrics |
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Musical Genre | Novelty |
Repository | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music |
Cover Description | Photo inset of Belle Baker, framed by a chain and anchors, seagulls above. Blue and gray on white; unsigned. |
Back Cover Description | In a simple border, text and sample: My Rosary for You (© 1916 06 20). |
Interior Description | Plate numbers, pp. 2, 3, BR: M.W.&Sons 15953-2 |
Performance Medium | Voice and piano. |
Original Location |
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Local Identifier | 2014_12996_053 |
Collection Title | James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986 |
Collection | James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection |
Download Options
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America Never Took Water - Cover | |
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America Never Took Water - Page 2 | |
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America Never Took Water - Page 3 | |
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America Never Took Water - Back Cover | |
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America Never Took Water - Lyrics |