HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

 

ABOUT THE SONG

The song, written by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager, was first performed by the George Olsen orchestra on Black Thursday, at the very onset of the stock market crash of 1929. Ironically, Yellen, who wrote the song’s lyrics, considered himself a Republican. Yellen and Ager wrote the song for a movie titled “Chasing Rainbows,” about World War I; the song was supposed to evoke the soldiers’ joy (júbilo, alegría) when they heard that peace had been made. However, the studio delayed release, so Yellen and Ager shopped it around to different performers. That’s how it came to be performed at New York’s Pennsylvania Hotel, in front of a crowd of ruined stock speculators.

As Time Magazine has pointed out, “Happydays” became FDR’s campaign song (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) almost by accident. The campaign was originally planning to use  “Anchors Aweigh,”  the fight song of the US Navy, as its theme. However, the man who introduced  FDR at the 1932 Democratic convention delivered a strikingly dull speech and then walked off stage to the strains of Anchors Aweigh. FDR’s team desperately wanted to change the mood before the candidate walked on stage, so they asked for a new song. The one chosen was, of course, “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

This was the first time that a pre-existing pop song had been chosen for a political campaign’s theme music. Prior to 1932, campaigns usually hired musicians to write songs for them.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson split (separó, rompió) the difference between pop and original. His campaign took the new and popular “Hello Dolly” and reimagined it as “Hello, Lyndon,” 

VOCABULARY

Striking /ˈstraɪ·kɪŋ .- easily noticed – llamativo-, very attractive –despanpanante-, impressive or notable – impresionante-.

Dull  /dʌl/  .- not interesting –soso, aburrido.

Strain /streɪn/  .- the feeling of being worried and nervous about something – tension -, pressure put on something by a bad situation or by too much weight or force – tension, presión -.    

Mood /mud/  .-  how a person or group of people is feeling  - estado de ánimo -, the way someone feels at a particular time – humor-.

“Happy Days Are Here Again” is the title of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s official campaign song in 1932. The song remained the unofficial anthem of the Democratic Party for many years.

LYRICS

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

Music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen (1929)

Barbra Streisand (1962)

So long sad times
Go long bad times
We are rid of you at last
Howdy gay times
Cloudy gray times
You are now a thing of the past

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

All together shout it now
There's no one
Who can doubt it now
So let's tell the world about it now

Happy days are here again
Your cares and troubles are gone
There'll be no more from now on
From now on

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy times, happy nights
Happy days are here again

VOCABULARY

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/

Be / get rid of = to have removed, to remove; to free one self from   (librarse de) Ø  I thought I’d never get rid of these weeds (malas hierbas) Ø  I’m rid of my debts at last.

Howdy = hello exclamation US informal   UK  /ˈhaʊ.di/ US  /ˈhaʊ.di/

gay/ˈɡeɪ/ adj    (bright)  alegre adj - vistoso/a, adj Ø  The young girls wore gay dresses of blue and yellow. Ø  People like her company because she is always so gay.

gray = US spelling of grey

Cheer noun UK  /tʃɪər/ US  /tʃɪər/  = a shout that shows you like someone or want to encourage(animar) them (ovación). Ø  The crowd cheered as he ran into the stadium. cheers!  Exclamation  UK  /tʃɪəz/ US  /tʃɪərz/  =  something friendly that you say before you start to drink alcohol  with someone  (¡salud!) UK informal   = used to mean ‘goodbye’   (¡adiós!) Ø  ‘Bye.’ ‘Cheers, see you next week.’ UK informal   = used to mean ‘thank you’   (¡gracias!) Ø  ‘I’ve bought you a drink.’ ‘Cheers, mate.’

Doubt  noun  UK  /daʊt/ US  /dɑʊt/   = a state of being uncertain about something, or not trusting someone or something   (duda) Ø  I  have some doubts about his ability to do the job. have no doubt  = to be certain  (no tener dudas) Ø  I have no doubt that I made the right decision. There is no doubt  =it is certain   (no hay duda) Ø  There is no doubt that he’s a good player. be in doubt  = to not be certain   (ser incierto) Ø  The future of the project is in doubt. without (a) doubt  = certainly  (sin duda) Ø  She is without doubt a great writer. no doubt  = used to say that something is very likely  (sin duda) Ø  No doubt she’ll spend the Money on her son.

care    noun UK  /keər/ US  /keər/   =  sth that worries you  (problema, preocupación) Ø  She forgot all her cares.

En la gala de entrega de los premios GOYA 2021 la cantante Aitana interpretó esta canción.