“Tea for Two,” the iconic song from the Broadway musical, No, No, Nanette, was published one hundred years ago on June 10, 1924. It was composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Irving Caesar (see “Tea for Two“). In the duet, a young couple considers marriage. The man, Tom, wants to marry right away but his girlfriend, Nanette, would rather wait and have some fun first.
That fun takes place in Atlantic City, which in the 1920s must have been the place to be with its beaches, boardwalk, beauty pageants, illegal gambling, and bootlegging. It also had rides and attractions like horse diving on the Steel Pier. Young women in bathing suits would ride horses off a sixty-foot platform into a pool below to the astonishment of crowds. It must have been one of the most bizarre things to witness and terrifying for the animals. Nanette was not one of those divers, although she was popular enough to be called the “Peach on the Beach.”
I bring up the song, because its centenary coincides with the age of my house, which also turns one hundred. Admittedly, that might not be very old for a house. In San Jose, California there are plenty of houses a century old or older. Many of them reflect two, basic architectural styles: Prairie and Spanish adobe. In fact, you can find both styles throughout the Bay Area (see below).
Prairie-style homes have sweeping, horizontal lines and open spaces. This style reflects the modern concept of form following function. Spanish adobe is what you might expect with stucco walls, tiled roofs, arched doorways, ironwork, beams, and alotta terra cotta. Think of the California missions.
I live in a Spanish-style house that originally was constructed with others to accommodate workers at the Del Monte cannery at a nearby train station. Two of the most impressive things about it are its lathe walls and wooden floors. The walls are in fine condition. The floors need some cleaning and repair in the more heavily used areas such as in front of the gas stove. This, even after I treated them with linseed and olive oils. As for the stove, it is a chrome and porcelain beauty made by Wedgewood. Imagine baking meatloaf in a fifties-era Cadillac. Now, that’s exciting.
When I found out about the anniversary of the song a few weeks ago, I took to playing it on my desktop. I imagine what it was like for the original occupants listening to it on the radio or gramophone. Now, once again, the tune echoed through the house. The walls and floor must have rejoiced hearing the familiar song.
I like to think that I am drawn to the past in ways that are appreciative and respectful. That may be symptomatic of a firstborn child, which I am. There was even a time when I wore a bow tie and drove a 1962 Ford Thunderbird. I don’t do silly things like that anymore, and I’m not sure what point I was trying to make other than that back then, as now, I liked chrome. I have to say, though, that I am often shocked by the lack of historical knowledge among most people. I heard an “influencer” on social media the other day refer to the seventies as “the past,” which is technically true but hardly helpful. Five minutes ago are also “the past.” You can’t step into the same river twice.
There has been a similar decline in language. That could be from changes taking place in English as it evolves and, in particular, American English, which is complicated mainly because of its adaptability. Given Darwin’s theory of selection, that may mean English will be around for quite some time, which is a good thing. If you lose your history and language, you might as well turn out the lights on your way out. It doesn’t matter which architectural style your house was built in.
Of course, music is a great way to preserve both the past and language, but you have to know about music to preserve it. So, in that spirit, here is an instrumental arrangement of “Tea for Two.” I like it so much I may have to take tap dance lessons. It’s going to be a long summer.
Image credits: feature by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash; tea cakes by Ja San Miguel on Unsplash; all house images by David Sawyer CC-BY SA 2.0. Want more? Go to Robert Brancatelli. The Brancatelli Blog is a member of The Free Media Alliance, which promotes “alternatives to software, culture, and hardware monopolies.”
