"How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)" is a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

song that rose to popularity after the war had ended. The lyrics highlight concern that soldiers would not want to return to their family farms after experiencing the European city life and culture of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

during World War I.

Performances and recordings

The song was first introduced to vaudeville by Sophie Tucker.Holsinger, M. Paul, "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?" (Song), ''War and American Popular Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. Edited by M Paul Holsinger, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999, , p.207. Eddie Cantor also added it to his stage set. An early

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

band,

Jim Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1881 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African Americans music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake calle ...

's 369th Infantry Band frequently performed this song in 1919 after arriving back in New York. They recorded a version for

Pathé Records Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. Early years The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé ...

and it became a hit for that year. Also, Nora Bayes and Billy Murray recorded it for Columbia that same year. Bayes' version reached number two on the US song charts in March 1919.

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

released its recording, featuring the singer

Arthur Fields Arthur Fields (August 6, 1884 – March 29, 1953) was an American singer (baritone) and songwriter. Biography He was born Abraham Finkelstein in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but grew up mainly in Utica, New York. He became a professional ...

, on February 27, 1919. Like many World War I songs, it was sung by soldiers in World War II.

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...

included a more melancholy cover version in his 2007 EP '' Soldier On''.

Composition

The song features music by

Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...

and words by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis. It was published in 1919 by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co in New York. The team of Donaldson, Young and Lewis, wrote another topical song commenting on soldiers returning from the war that was released by Victor the day before "How Ya Gonna Keep Em Down on the Farm." " Don’t Cry Frenchy, Don’t Cry" was released by Victor on February 26, 1919. It featured the singers Charles Hart and Elliott Shaw. The song is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

Pop culture

The phrase 'How you gonna keep them down on the farm once...' has entered the vernacular to indicate a person becoming enamored by a big city or more glamorous life.

References

Bibliography

* Hagedorn, Ann. ''Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919''. New York:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, 2007. * Holsinger, M. Paul, "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?" (Song) in ''War and American Popular Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. Edited by M Paul Holsinger, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. * True, William, and Deryck Tufts True. ''The Cow Spoke French: The Story of Sgt. William True, American Paratrooper in World War II''. Bennington, Vt: Merriam Press, 2002.

External links

Listen to an MP3 of the song and see the sheet music
at the Illinois Digital Archive
How 'ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm : (after they've seen Paree?) Sheet Music
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Discography of American Historical Recordings
{{Authority control 1919 songs Songs about Paris Songs of World War I Nora Bayes songs Billy Murray (singer) songs Songs with music by Walter Donaldson Songs with lyrics by Joe Young (lyricist) Songs with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis Sophie Tucker songs Eddie Cantor songs