"Gasoline" is a popular song written in 1913 in deference to the modern necessity for the commodity,
gasoline
Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
. Lyrics were written by
J. Will Callahan
J. Will Callahan (March 17, 1874 – November 15, 1946) was an American lyricist. He was also partially blind.
He wrote lyrics for songs including "Gasoline" (1913), "Smiles" (used in '' The Passing Show of 1918''), and more notoriously to m ...
(1874–1946) and the music composed by Indiana musician Paul Pratt (1890–1948). The song asks a series of questions—What is it keep this world of ours a-going? What makes us happy night and day? What is the precious thing for which we're blowing each blessed dollar of our weekly pay? etc.—which it answers in the chorus:
:''Gasoline! Gasoline!''
:''Ev'rywhere you go you smell it,''
:''Ev'ry motor seems to yell it.''
:''Gasoline! Gasoline!''
:''That's the cry that echoes thro your dreams.''
:''Gasoline! Gasoline!''
:''In this land of milk and honey''
:Tisn't love—isn't money''
:''Rules the world, now ain't it funny?''
:''Gasoline! Gasoline!''
Written in 2/4 time, the song is set to the tempo of ''Moderato marcia''.
"Gasoline" is one of the songs the
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
includes in its collection, ''America on the Move''.
[Smithsonian, "Gasoline".]
References
Bibliography
*Callahan; J. Will; Pratt, Paul. "Gasoline" (sheet music). Chicago: Frank K. Root & Co. (1913)
*Smithsonian Institution
"Gasoline''America on the Move''. Washington D.C.: National Museum of American History.
1913 songs
Songs with lyrics by J. Will Callahan
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