"The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)" is a song from the 1933

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

film ''

Gold Diggers of 1933 ''Gold Diggers of 1933'' is a pre-Code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics), staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline M ...

'', sung in the opening sequence by

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

and chorus. The entire song is never performed in the 1933 movie, though it introduces the film in the opening scene (wherein the performance is busted up by the police). Later in the movie, the tune is heard off stage in rehearsal as the director continues a discussion on camera about other matters.
The lyrics were written by Al Dubin and the music by Harry Warren. It became a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

with a well-known melody. It is one of the songs of the

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's musical

42nd Street (musical) ''42nd Street'' is a 1980 stage musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production won the Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Choreography and ...

Lyrics

The song's lyrics reflect a positive financial turnaround and a fantasized end to the Great Depression, which in the U.S. began to turn around in early 1933 but wouldn't actually end until the late 1930s:Great Depression
Encyclopædia Britannica (Opening verse)
''We're in the money!''
''We're in the money!''
''We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!''
''We're in the money!''
''The skies are sunny!''
''Ol' Man Depression, you are through, you done us wrong!''
''We never see a headline 'bout a bread line today,''
''And when we see the landlord,''
''We can look that guy right in the eye!''
''We're in the money!''
''Come on, my honey!''
''Let's spend it, lend it, send it rolling along!''

Early versions

Early popular recordings of this song were by performed by Ted Lewis & His Band and by

Hal Kemp James Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. Biography Hal Kemp was born in Marion, Alabama. He formed his first band in high school, and by the a ...

& His Orchestra. Dick Powell, who does not sing a note of "The Golddigger's Song" in the motion picture, recorded a version that also sold well. Other 1933 versions were by

The Dorsey Brothers The Dorsey Brothers were an American studio dance band, led by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. They started recording in 1928 for OKeh Records. History The Dorsey Brothers recorded songs for the dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Domino, Jewel, Oriole, ...

(vocal by

The Boswell Sisters The Boswell Sisters were an American close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras, consisting of three sisters: Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 – July 2, 1958), Connie Boswell (later spelled "Connee", December 3, 1907 – October 11, ...

), and

Leo Reisman Leo F. Reisman (October 11, 1897 – December 18, 1961) was an American violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s. Born and reared in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, he was of Jewish ancestry; from German immigrants who immigrated to th ...

and His Orchestra (vocal by

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Other recordings

* Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1954 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set ''The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56)'' issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009. * Rosemary Clooney included the song in her album '' Dedicated to Nelson'' (1996). *Mihoko Tokoro performs a version of this song in Japanese for the 1996 film ''

My Fellow Americans ''My Fellow Americans'' is a 1996 American political comedy film directed by Peter Segal. It stars Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents, with Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Esther Rolle, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whi ...

''. This version also appears on the film's soundtrack album. *American swing revivalists the Cherry Poppin' Daddies recorded a version for their 2016 covers album '' The Boop-A-Doo''.

In other Warner Bros. productions

The song was used again in three other Warner Bros. productions: as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

of the 1933 Merrie Melodies cartoon ''We're in the Money;'' and as the theme and source music two years later in the 1935 film, '' We're in the Money''. It also appears in other cartoons for scenes where a character has gained a lot of money or thinks that he's about to. The song also appears in the 1962 ''

The Chapman Report ''The Chapman Report'' is a 1962 American Technicolor drama film starring Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom and Glynis Johns. It was made by DFZ Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by ...

'', played by a calliope at an amusement park; in the 1967 '' Bonnie and Clyde'', starring

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

and

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. In 2011, the government of France mad ...

(the film is set in the Great Depression, they are in a theatre where the original ''Gold Diggers'' movie is showing, Bonnie is enjoying the song while Clyde is furiously reprimanding the getaway driver from a bank robbery gone bad); and as the car horn sound on Rodney Dangerfield's

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in the 1982 ''

Caddyshack ''Caddyshack'' is a 1980 American sports comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Douglas Kenney, and starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray with supporting ...

''.

Media

On the very first ''

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

'' episode, "

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Intro ...

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

and

Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...

sing the first three lines of the song. In the Simpsons episode "

HOMR "HOMR" (styled as "HOMЯ") is the ninth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The 257th episode overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 7, 2001. In the e ...

", the first two lines of the song are sung by a chorus in Homer's head during a scene when he thinks that he'll get rich by investing in the stock market. This song is also included in the Simpsons episode "

Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts" is the second episode of the The Simpsons (season 23), twenty-third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the Un ...

". The song played at the end of the auction. The song was included in the stage adaptation of 42nd Street, along with other songs by Dubin & Warren, who wrote the songs for the original movie version. The song is featured in the game ''

Dance on Broadway ''Dance on Broadway'' is a 2010 rhythm game for the Wii and PlayStation 3. Published by Ubisoft, the creators of '' Just Dance'', ''Dance on Broadway'' is similarly a dance-based music game but with songs taken from stage musicals rather than po ...

''. An orchestral version of the song is used to denote a strong day on Wall Street in the podcast ''

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

''. In the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

show, ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

'', the lawyer ''

Saul Goodman James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character i ...

'' whistles the tune to this song in Season 5, Episode 6 (''

Wexler v. Goodman "Wexler v. Goodman" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the AMC television series ''Better Call Saul'', a spin-off series of ''Breaking Bad''. The episode aired on March 23, 2020, on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, ...

''). The song was used as the theme tune by

Lotto Lotto may refer to: * Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery * Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy * Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesque pattern * Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian sports apparel manu ...

during 1988.

References