God Bless Irving Berlin

Happy Birthday to Irving Berlin, born on May 11, 1888.

The “nation’s songwriter” was 101 when he died in 1989, having written some 1,500 songs. “Cheek to Cheek,” “God Bless America,” “How Deep is the Ocean,” “White Christmas,” “Sisters,” “Easter Parade,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” and all the other great songs from Annie Get Your Gun. Google the full list. You’ll see dozens of titles you know, and lots more that you don’t.

Here is the man himself singing “Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” (and threatening to murder the bugler) from his World War II-era Broadway show This is the Army.

Perusing the vintage posters promoting Berlin’s musical revues at his Music Box Theatre on Broadway, (Berlin built the theater in 1921), I came across one entitled “In a Cozy Kitchenette Apartment”–resonant for anyone dealing in New York City real estate, whether last century or this:

In a Cozy Kitchenette Apartment
 I'm getting tired of eating in restaurants
 They don't appeal to me
 If we could own a cute apartment
 I'd know just what a joyful heart meant
 I hate to think of waiters and bill-of-fares
 When evening time draws near
 Three little rooms will be just like heaven
 When we are married dear
 In a
 Cozy kitchenette apartment for two
 I'll be setting the table
 While you're cooking a stew
 For me and you
 I'll be there to help you put the dishes away
 Then together we'll listen to the phonograph play
 The tuneful Humoresque
 And oh, what bliss
 When it's time to kiss
 In a cozy kitchenette apartment for two

Berlin wrote the sweet and tender “Always” to woo his wife, Ellin Mackay, and gave her the rights to the song when her father disinherited his daughter for marrying Berlin. Read all about it in Ian Frazier’s “The Cabaret Beat” in the February 23, 2015 issue of The New Yorker. (But only read it when you have time because it’s too beautifully written to skim.) Theirs was a true love affair, a romance that lasted more than 60 years, until the day Ellin Berlin died.

To borrow a lyric: “Heaven, I’m in heaven,” when I listen to these melodies. Here’s to you, Mr. Berlin. Your words will be brightening our lives. Always.