Beer Barrel Polka
Encyclopedia
Beer Barrel Polka, also known as Roll Out the Barrel, is a song which became popular worldwide during World War II
. The music was composed by the Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda
in 1927. Eduard Ingriš
wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came upon the melody and sought Ingriš's help in refining it. At that time, it was played without lyrics as Modřanská polka ("Polka of Modřany
"). Its first text was written later (in 1934) by Václav Zeman – with the title Škoda lásky ("Wasted Love").
The polka
became famous around the world. In June 1939, "Beer Barrel Polka", as recorded by Will Glahé
, with English lyrics, was #1 on the Hit Parade. This version was distributed by Shapiro Bernstein. Glahé's earlier 1934 recording sold many copies in its German
version Rosamunde (it is possible the reason for the rapid spread was due to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, and subsequent emigration of thousands of Czechs to other parts of the world, bringing this catchy tune with them). The authors of the English lyrics were Lew Brown
and Wladimir Timm. Meanwhile, the song was recorded and played by many others such as Andrews Sisters in 1939, Glenn Miller Orchestra
, Benny Goodman
, and Billie Holiday
. Bobby Vinton
also had his version of the song, which peaked at #33 in 1975.
During World War II, versions in many other languages were created and the song was popular among soldier
s, regardless of their alliances. It was claimed many times that the song was written in the country where it had just become a hit. Its actual composer was not widely known until after the war.
A former Foreign Minister of Germany
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
even made a bet that it was a German song. He lost.
. Since the 1970s, it (usually the Frankie Yankovic
version) has been played during the seventh inning stretch at Milwaukee Brewers
baseball
games, as well as becoming one of the state of Wisconsin's unofficial state songs as it's also played at numerous University of Wisconsin sporting events, as well as Green Bay Packers
home games, and Milwaukee Panthers
basketball games, including after every home win. More recently Brave Combo
and Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra made their own compositions of "The Beer Barrel Polka". Arthur Miller
's play Death of a Salesman
features a recording of a young girl whistling this song. Leonard "Chico" Marx of the Marx Brothers played a variation of this song in the movie At the Circus and again in the movie A Night in Casablanca
. The Wiggles
sang this song on their album and video Sailing Around the World. In the movie The North Avenue Irregulars
, a scene features a tape recorder playing The Andrews Sisters' version of the song while Patsy Kelly
, Barbara Harris
, and Virginia Capers
sing along with it.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The music was composed by the Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda
Jaromír Vejvoda
Jaromír Vejvoda was a Czech composer and the author of the "Beer Barrel Polka".-Life and work:...
in 1927. Eduard Ingriš
Eduard Ingris
Eduard Ingriš was a Czech-American composer, photographer, conductor and adventurer.Born in Zlonice in Bohemia , Ingriš left Czechoslovakia in 1947 for South America, living in Brazil and Peru...
wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came upon the melody and sought Ingriš's help in refining it. At that time, it was played without lyrics as Modřanská polka ("Polka of Modřany
Modřany
Modřany is a suburb of Prague south of the city centre on the banks of the Vltava. It belongs to the municipal district Prague 12. Before being joined with the capital Prague in year 1974, Modřany was de facto a town....
"). Its first text was written later (in 1934) by Václav Zeman – with the title Škoda lásky ("Wasted Love").
The polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
became famous around the world. In June 1939, "Beer Barrel Polka", as recorded by Will Glahé
Will Glahé
Will Glahé , was a German accordionist, composer, and bandleader.Glahé was born at Elberfeld. In the 1930s, he was, along with Heinz Munsonius and Albert Vossen, one of the most successful accordionists in Germany...
, with English lyrics, was #1 on the Hit Parade. This version was distributed by Shapiro Bernstein. Glahé's earlier 1934 recording sold many copies in its German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
version Rosamunde (it is possible the reason for the rapid spread was due to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, and subsequent emigration of thousands of Czechs to other parts of the world, bringing this catchy tune with them). The authors of the English lyrics were Lew Brown
Lew Brown
Lew Brown was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States.Brown was born as Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russian Empire...
and Wladimir Timm. Meanwhile, the song was recorded and played by many others such as Andrews Sisters in 1939, Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra was originally formed in 1938 by Glenn Miller. It was arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, while three other saxophones played the harmony...
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, and Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
also had his version of the song, which peaked at #33 in 1975.
During World War II, versions in many other languages were created and the song was popular among soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, regardless of their alliances. It was claimed many times that the song was written in the country where it had just become a hit. Its actual composer was not widely known until after the war.
A former Foreign Minister of Germany
Foreign Minister of Germany
The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs is the head of the Federal Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The current office holder is Guido Westerwelle...
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a German politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party . He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 1974 to 1982 and, after a two-week pause, from 1982 to 1992, making him Germany's longest serving Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor...
even made a bet that it was a German song. He lost.
Echoes
This hit later became a signature song of well-known entertainer LiberaceLiberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
. Since the 1970s, it (usually the Frankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King," Yankovic was the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during a long and successful career.-Background:Of Slovene descent, he was raised in South Euclid, Ohio...
version) has been played during the seventh inning stretch at Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games, as well as becoming one of the state of Wisconsin's unofficial state songs as it's also played at numerous University of Wisconsin sporting events, as well as Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
home games, and Milwaukee Panthers
Milwaukee Panthers
The Milwaukee Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. A total of 15 Panthers athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I. Panthers have won the James J...
basketball games, including after every home win. More recently Brave Combo
Brave Combo
Brave Combo is a polka/rock band based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1979 by guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Carl Finch, they have been a prominent fixture in the Texas music scene for more than twenty-five years...
and Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra made their own compositions of "The Beer Barrel Polka". Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's play Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
features a recording of a young girl whistling this song. Leonard "Chico" Marx of the Marx Brothers played a variation of this song in the movie At the Circus and again in the movie A Night in Casablanca
A Night in Casablanca
A Night in Casablanca was the twelfth Marx Brothers movie, starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx. The picture was directed by Archie Mayo and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee, and is generally considered one of the better of the Marx Brothers' later films.-Plot:Set in...
. The Wiggles
The Wiggles
The Wiggles are a children's group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. Their original members were Anthony Field, Phillip Wilcher, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. Wilcher left the group after their first album...
sang this song on their album and video Sailing Around the World. In the movie The North Avenue Irregulars
The North Avenue Irregulars
The North Avenue Irregulars is a 1979 Disney film distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Edward Hermann, Barbara Harris and Susan Clark. It was based on original work by Albert Fay Hill, as adapted by Don Tait...
, a scene features a tape recorder playing The Andrews Sisters' version of the song while Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
, Barbara Harris
Barbara Harris (actress)
Barbara Harris is an American actress who was a Broadway stage star and later became a film actress. She appeared in such films as A Thousand Clowns, Plaza Suite, Nashville, Family Plot, Freaky Friday, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Grosse Pointe Blank...
, and Virginia Capers
Virginia Capers
Eliza Virginia Capers was an American actress.-Early life:Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Capers attended Howard University and studied voice at the Juilliard School in New York City. She made her Broadway debut in Jamaica in 1957...
sing along with it.
Names in other languages
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Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe.... : Sej-haj Rozi Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... : Rosamunda Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... : Biya daru polka Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language... : Hvor er min kone Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... : Banda or My młodzi, my młodzi, nam bimber nie zaszkodzi.../Szkoda miłości Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... (Brazil Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay.... ): Barril de chope Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... : Розамунда Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... : Polka del Barril/Polca de la Cerveza or Barrilito Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish... : Ut i naturen |