Who knew the library had a rally song? "The Library Song" was published in 1967 by Joleron Music Corp., and written by Fred Hertz and Joel Herron. This duo wrote and recorded five LPs as Frankie Stein and His Ghouls, issued on Power Records in the late 1950s. Hertz also co-wrote a couple of tunes on Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy, while Herron was best known for penning the songs "I'm a Fool to Want You" and "Sierra Nevada".
Here are the lyrics to "The Library Song":
"Oh, the place for you and the place for me is the local public library / They have books and things they lend for free, it's the latest, it's the greatest, it's the library / They have histories, they have mysteries, and for mother books of recipes / See a movie show, hear a symphony, it's the latest, it's the greatest, it's the library / Educational, informational, entertainment that's sensational / It's a way of life, it's for you and me, it's the latest, it's the greatest, it's the library."
Two things that popped out: 1) Seems the prevailing idea in 1967 was that only mom took the kids to the library, and then just to pick up the latest chicken casserole recipe; 2) The library is "a way of life"?!? Zowie! The cult of bibliography begins young...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
It's the latest, it's the greatest, it's the library!
Posted by
Warren Truitt
at
2:25 PM
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2 comments:
I remember stumbling across that song! Still, when you say "The Library Song," Cursor Miner's "Library" will always be the one that pops into my head: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pFMnXsL1Ri8
(Warning: like it or not, the song is a veritable earworm.)
Except when I heard the New York Public Library commercial sung by juveniles in the 60's I swear they said "its the liBARy," just like lots of little kids said. Not "liBRARy."
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