Stay Down Here Where You Belong
"Stay Down Here Where You Belong" | |
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Sheet music cover from the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music | |
Song | |
Released | 1914 (1914) |
Genre | Popular music |
Composer(s) | Irving Berlin |
Audio sample | |
Stay Down Here Where You Belong recorded by Henry Burr (1915)
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"Stay Down Here Where You Belong" was a pacifist song written by Irving Berlin in 1914. The lyrics depict a conversation between the devil and his son, the devil exhorting him to "stay down here where you belong" because people on Earth do not know right from wrong.[1]
To serve their king, they've all gone off to war.
And not a one of them knows what they're fighting for.
While Henry Burr's recording of the song may have mirrored a large portion of American sentiment during the early days of World War I, the eventual entry of the United States into the conflict and the consequent reversal of the national mood turned the song into a major source of embarrassment for Berlin, who is better known for his subsequent patriotic songs. One of Berlin's peeves was the penchant of Groucho Marx to sing the song; Berlin offered Marx $100 not to do it again.[2] A rendition by Marx appears on his concert album, An Evening with Groucho.
A rendition of "Stay Down Here Where You Belong" was also recorded by Tiny Tim. In the late 20th and early 21st century it has also been performed by the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra.
See also
References
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Theatre |
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Film |
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- "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
- "All Alone"
- "All by Myself"
- "All of My Life"
- "Always"
- "Any Bonds Today?"
- "Anything You Can Do"
- "At the Devil's Ball"
- "The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me)"
- "Blue Skies"
- "Change Partners"
- "Cheek to Cheek"
- "Count Your Blessings"
- "A Couple of Swells"
- "Daddy, Come Home"
- "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly"
- "Easter Parade"
- "Follow the Crowd"
- "For Your Country and My Country"
- "Get Thee Behind Me Satan"
- "The Girl That I Marry"
- "God Bless America"
- "Goodbye, France"
- "Happy Holiday"
- "Heat Wave"
- "Heaven Watch the Philippines"
- "How About Me?"
- "How Deep Is the Ocean?"
- "How's Chances?"
- "I Got Lost in His Arms"
- "I Got the Sun in the Mornin' (and the Moon at Night)"
- "I Love a Piano"
- "I Never Had a Chance"
- "I Used to Be Color Blind"
- "I Want To Go Back To Michigan"
- "I'm an Indian Too"
- "I'm Gonna Pin My Medal on the Girl I Left Behind"
- "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket"
- "I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now"
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"
- "Isn't This a Lovely Day?"
- "It's a Lovely Day Today"
- "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow"
- "Lazy"
- "Let Yourself Go"
- "Let's All Be Americans Now
- "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
- "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee"
- "Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk"
- "Mandy"
- "Moonshine Lullaby"
- "My Defenses Are Down"
- "The Near Future"
- "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)"
- "Now It Can Be Told"
- "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning"
- "Play a Simple Melody"
- "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody"
- "Puttin' On the Ritz"
- "Reaching for the Moon"
- "Remember"
- "San Francisco Bound"
- "Say It Isn't So"
- "Say It with Music"
- "Someone Else May Be There While I'm Gone"
- "Sisters"
- "Slumming on Park Avenue"
- "The Song Is Ended (but the Melody Lingers On)"
- "Stay Down Here Where You Belong"
- "Steppin' Out with My Baby"
- "Supper Time"
- "That International Rag"
- "That Mysterious Rag"
- "There's No Business Like Show Business"
- "They Say It's Wonderful"
- "They Were All Out of Step But Jim"
- "This Year's Kisses"
- "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"
- "What'll I Do"
- "When I Lost You"
- "White Christmas"
- "Who Do You Love, I Hope?"
- "With You"
- "You Can Have Him"
- "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun"
- "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song"
- "You'd Be Surprised"
- "You're Just in Love"
- "You're Laughing at Me"
- Ellin Berlin (wife)
- Mary Ellin Barrett (daughter)
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