6 Responses to “Goodnight to the Street Sweepers, Night Watchmen, Flame Keepers…”

1. 1 1 HH
   July 11, 2012 at 1:43 am

   Possibly my favorite song, with perhaps the greatest lyrics in recent history.

   And it’s a battered old suitcase
   To a hotel someplace
   and a wound that will never heal…

2. 2 2 Harold
   July 11, 2012 at 6:09 am

   The program was called the Old Grey Whistle Test. Apparently, the music writers of tin pan alley (or London’s Denmark St.) would either play songs to doormen, who they called the old greys, or wait for the cleaning staff (older people) to arrive after other office workers had left. If the writers heard the old greys whistling a tune, it had passed the old grey whistle test. Sounds a bit made up to me.

3. 3 3 Ken B
   July 11, 2012 at 9:46 am

   Wonderful stuff. You have atoned for the Judi Collins link :)

   Here’s another old song in dance rhythm, by another gravelly voiced fellow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQufirEduXk&feature=related

   Words and lyrics by Irving Berlin, charm by Leon Redbone.

4. 4 4 Ken B
   July 11, 2012 at 10:00 am

   Ken B: “Words and lyrics by Irving Berlin”

   Oops. Forgot to add, music and notes by Irving Berlin.

5. 5 5 nobody.really
   July 11, 2012 at 10:30 am

   [M]usic and notes by Irving Berlin.

   Ha — good catch! But, after all, we shouldn’t assume the one implies the other. Recall the words of Garrison Keillor:

   “How do you slow down a banjo player? Put a musical score in front of him.

   How do you stop a banjo player? Put notes on the score.”

6. 6 6 Ken B
   July 11, 2012 at 2:12 pm

   @nobody.really: I had to think about that for 4 minutes 33 seconds …
   [insert rather arcane smiley here]