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"I'll See You In C-U-B-A"
Sheet music cover, 1920
Song
Written1919
ReleasedFebruary 26, 1920 (1920-02-26)
Songwriter(s)Irving Berlin

"I'll See You in C-U-B-A" is a 1919 popular foxtrot Tin Pan Alley[1] song written by Irving Berlin, for musical revue The Greenwich Village Follies.[2][3] The Follies first opened on July 15, 1919.[2]

The music features a simple rhythm and melody without direct Cuban musical influences.[1] Its lyrics are notable for expressing "comical disdain for prohibition's benefits to society"[4] in response to the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment on January 16, 1919, and advertising Cuba as a tourist destination.[5]

Content

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In the song, the singer persuades the audience to travel to Cuba "where wine is flowing", as a response to the 1920 prohibition of alcohol in the United States. It also epitomizes the friendly relations between Cuba and the United States, prior to the 1952 Cuban Revolution era. As a travel advertisement, the song reflects the early-20th-century status of Cuba as "America's playground", which is a label that many Cubans "would come to resent" in the decades afterward.[1]

The University of Illinois has likened its content to other Tin Pan Alley songs including Jean Schwartz's "Sahara (We’ll Soon Be Dry like You)" and Albert von Tilzer's "I’ve got the Alcoholic Blues",[4] while America's Songs compared it to "You Don't Need the Wine to Have a Wonderful Time" written by Harry Akst and Howard E. Rogers for comedy singer Eddie Cantor.[5]

Background

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Prior to writing the song, Irving Berlin composed "There's a Girl in Havana" in 1911, with lyrics written by E. Ray Goetz. A year later, E. Ray Goetz's sister, Dorothy Goetz, married Irving Berlin, and they vacationed in Havana for their honeymoon. Although Dorothy caught typhoid fever while in Cuba and died five months afterward in New York,[6] the trip was among Berlin's only memories of Dorothy.[1] Music historian Timothy Storhoff has claimed that their Cuban honeymoon served as direct inspiration for "I'll See You in C-U-B-A".[1]

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In January 1920, the song was recorded by pop vocalist Billy Murray under the Victor label.[7] A month later, baritone Jack Kaufman[8] recorded a version with Columbia Records; this version incorporates portions of "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen.[9] Kaufman's version was the B-side to Al Jolson singing "That Wonderful Kid From Madrid".[9]

Bing Crosby and Trudy Erwin performed a duet of the song in October of 1946,[10] and Nat King Cole recorded the song on November 2, 1956.[11]

Cuban actor Desi Arnaz has performed the song on multiple occasions. In character as Ricky Ricardo, he performed the song to impress a Hollywood agent in 1952 I Love Lucy episode, "Ricky's Mustache".[12] It was also featured in 1954 episode "Ricky's Contract".[13] In 1983, Arnaz performed the song as himself on The David Letterman Show, after which he thanked Irving Berlin for writing the song on behalf of all Cubans, and wished the deceased composer a happy belated birthday.[14]

Lyrics and sheet music

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Both the music and lyrics were composed by Berlin c. 1919.[2]

The sheet music was published in 1920 by Irving Berlin Inc., 1587 Broadway.[15]

Not so far from here,
There's a very lively atmosphere,
Ev'rybody's going there this year;
And there's a reason:
The season opened last July,
Ever since the U.S.A. went dry,
Ev'rybody's going there and I'm going too
I'm on my way to
Cuba, there's where I'm going,
Cuba, there's where I'll stay.
Cuba, where wine is flowing
And where darkeyed Stellas
Light their fellers' panatellas,
Cuba, where all is happy,
Cuba, where all is gay;
Why don't you plan a wonderful trip,
to Havana? Hop on a ship,
And I'll see you in C-U-B-A.
Take a friend's advice,
Drinking in a cellar isn't nice,
Anybody who has got the price;
Should be a Cuban:
Have you been longing for the 'smile'
That you haven't had for quite a while,
If you have, then follow me and I'll show the way
Cuba, there's where I'm going,
Cuba, there's where I'll stay.
Cuba, where wine is flowing
And where darkeyed Stellas
Light their fellers' panatellas,
Cuba, where all is happy,
Cuba, where all is gay;
Why don't you plan a wonderful trip
to Havana? Hop on a ship,
And I'll see you in C-U-B-A.

[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Storhoff, Timothy P. (October 21, 2020). Harmony and Normalization: US-Cuban Musical Diplomacy. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4968-3091-3.
  2. ^ a b c "The Greenwich Village Follies [1919]". The Greenwich Village Follies [1919]. The Internet Broadway Database. July 21, 2024. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Green, Stanley (2011). Broadway Musicals: Show by Show. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-55783-784-4.
  4. ^ a b "Singing the Temperance Blues". Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Furia, Philip; Lasser, Michael (May 12, 2006). America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-47199-6.
  6. ^ Stanley, Bob (September 6, 2022). Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music: A History. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63936-251-6.
  7. ^ "I'll see you in C-U-B-A". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "Jack Kaufman". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Al Jolson / Jack Kaufman (2) – That Wonderful Kid From Madrid / I'll See You In C-U-B-A". Discogs. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  10. ^ Billboard. Billboard.
  11. ^ "I'll See You in C-U-B-A – Singing the Temperance Blues". Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  12. ^ Paramount Plus (February 23, 2022). The Mustache. Retrieved July 21, 2024 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ Paramount Plus (April 7, 2022). Ricky's Contract. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Don Giller (April 30, 2016). Desi Arnaz, Sr. (& Jack Paar) on Letterman, May 23, 1983. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via YouTube. At approximately 11:27.
  15. ^ "078.045 - I'll See You in Cuba. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  16. ^ Herder, Ronald (January 1, 1998). 500 Best-loved Song Lyrics. Courier Corporation. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-486-29725-5.
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