"Ain't We Got Fun" is a popular

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

published in 1921 with music by Richard A. Whiting, lyrics by Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn. It was first performed in 1920 in the Fanchon and Marco revue ''Satires of 1920'', then moved into

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and recordings. "Ain't We Got Fun?" and its jaunty response to poverty and its promise of fun ("Every morning / Every evening," and "In the meantime, / In between time") have become symbolic of the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western world, Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultura ...

, and it appears in some of the major literature of the decade, including ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald and in Dorothy Parker's award-winning short story of 1929, "Big Blonde." The song also contains variations on the phrase " The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" (substituting, ''e.g.'', "children" for "poorer"); though this phrase predates the song, its use increased with the song's popularity.

Composition

"Ain't We Got Fun" follows the structure of a

. The melody uses mainly quarter notes, and has an unsyncopated refrain made up largely of variations on a repeated four-note phrase., page 76. The ''Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia'' describes it as a "Roaring Twenties favourite" and praises its vibrancy, "zesty music," and comic lyrics. Philip Furia, connecting Kahn's lyrics to the song's music, writes that: Critical appraisals vary regarding what view of poverty the song's lyrics take. Nicholas E. Tawa summarizes the refrain "Ain't we got fun" as a "satirical and jaunty rejoinder" toward hard times. Diane Holloway and Bob Cheney, authors of ''American History in Song: Lyrics from 1900 to 1945'', concur, and describe the black humor in the couple's relief that their poverty shields them from worrying about damage to their nonexistent Pierce Arrow luxury automobile. Yet

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

highlights the lyrics of "Ain't We Got Fun" as an example of working class unrest: After quoting a few of the song's lines Orwell refers to the era as a time when "people had not yet settled down to a lifetime of unemployment mitigated by endless cups of tea," a turn of phrase which the later writer Larry Portis contests. However, others concentrate on the fun that they got. Stephen J. Whitfieldd, citing lyrics such as "Every morning / Every evening / Ain't we got fun," writes that the song "set the mood which is indelibly associated with the

," a decade when pleasure was sought and found constantly, morning, evening, and "In the meantime / In between time." Philip Furia and Michael Lasser see implicit references to sexual intercourse in lyrics such as "the happy chappy, and his bride of only a year." Looked at in the context of the 1920s, an era of increasing sexual freedom, they point out that, while here presented within the context of marriage (in other songs it is not), the sexuality is notably closer to the surface than in previous eras and is presented as a delightful, youthful pleasure. There are several variations on the lyrics. For example, ''American History in Song'' quotes the lyrics: The sheet music published in 1921 by Jerome K. Remick and Co. leaves this chorus out completely, whereas a recording for

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by ...

by Billy Jones keeps the reference to the Pierce Arrow, but then continues as in the sheet music: "There's nothing surer / The rich get rich and the poor get laid off / In the meantime,/ In between time/ Ain't we got fun?"

Reception and performance history

It premièred in the Fanchon and Marco show ''Satires of 1920'', where it was sung by Arthur West, then entered the

repertoire of Ruth Roye. A hit recording by Van and Schenck increased its popularity, and grew into a popular standard. The song appears in the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel ''

'', when Daisy Buchanan and Gatsby meet again after many years, and the latter insists Klipspringer, his apparently permanent "guest," to play it for them. It also appears in Dorothy Parker's 1929 short story, "Big Blonde."

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

used the song in two musicals during the early 1950s: The Gus Kahn biopic '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' and '' The Eddie Cantor Story''.

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

used the song in his 1983 film ''

Zelig ''Zelig'' is a 1983 American satirical mockumentary comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen as Leonard Zelig, a nondescript enigma, who, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteris ...

''.

Notable recordings

* Van and Schenck (1921) * Benson Orchestra of Chicago (1921) * Billy Jones (1922) * Margaret Whiting and

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

(1949) ( Margaret Whiting#Singles) *

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

for her album '' By the Light of the Silvery Moon'' (1953) * Gordon MacRae and June Hutton – for the Capitol Records EP ''By the Light of the Silvery Moon'' (1953) * Alma Cogan – for her album '' I Love to Sing'' (1958)

References

{{authority control 1921 songs Foxtrots Songs with lyrics by Raymond B. Egan Songs with lyrics by Gus Kahn Doris Day songs Songs with music by Richard A. Whiting