From the person who posted the video on You Tube:
"Come On-A My House" has an interesting history. The song was composed in 1939 by Armenian-born author and playwright William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville of Alvin & Chipmunks fame). The melody is based on an old Armenian folk song and the subject matter of the song touches on gracious Armenian customs. Rosemary Clooney hated the song and when first approached with it by Columbia Records producer, Mitch MIller, she refused to record it. Mitch told her to either sing it or leave Columbia so she decided to go on with it. However, as Rosemary recounted years later, "you can hear the anger in my voice as I'm singing it". "Come On-A My House" ended up being one of the biggest hits of 1951, and a song by which Rosemary has always been identified.
This story about the Armenian connection would explain the lyric about giving "figs and dates" and later in the song "pomegranate too." I'm pretty sure pomegranates were virtually unknown in 1951 in the USA. Not sure how common figs or dates would have been either.
In case you did not know it, Ross Bagdasarian was the piano player across the way in Hitchcock's "Rear Window."
ReplyDeleteFay and I were discussing this. She thought it was about a woman seducing a man (I never had any woman sing this to me!). I said (while I knew it wasn't the case) I thought it sounded like a child molester.
I knew Clooney hated Mambo Italiano. I did not know she hated this. But if she was angry when she recorded this, it sure made the record. For 1951, this thing rocks.
Interestingly enough, we had pomegranites when I was a child/teenager in England. My mother taught me how to open and eat them. I remember her giving them to me to take to school and share with the other kids. Odd really, we never had fresh pineapples (in fact I had never even seen a fresh pineapple until I came to Canada) or fresh peaches (they may have been available but we certainly never had any in our house).
ReplyDeleteI mentioned the pomegranite availabily mystery to a Persian friend of mine and she explained to me that the reason we had them in England was because of the "Empire"
Makes perfect sense to me.
Oops sorry for the incorrect spelling. Lewy is right, it should be "pomegranate"
DeleteI can take no credit properly belonging to "spellcheck".
Deletered squiggle... right click... select suggested correction... done. An activity I repeat hundreds of times daily. :D
Although pomegranite countertops would be pretty cool... :P
DeleteTrue enough, LOL :D
DeleteThat's funny, because I don't remember ever seeing a pomegranate in England. I first encountered them only when I arrived in Israel. On the other hand I do remember seeing pineapples (which we received from overseas colleagues of my dad), peaches (which my mum bought singly rather than in kilos) and figs just around Rosh Hashana time (must have been imported from Israel).
DeleteI hadn't thought about salmon but you're right. We always ate tinned salmon. I don't think I realized it was an actual fish till I was an adult! :p
I encountered a single pomegranate in grade school. They were not generally available in the states AFAIK in the sixties.
ReplyDeleteEmpire is the reason we had bananas. Sadly I dislike bananas. Hawaii is the reason we had pineapple. Bit far for Britain.
I don't know why you didn't have peaches growing up Fay - delicious peaches are grown in Italy; should have been close enough.
The Rosemary Clooney song is smokin' hot. I'd have been over her house in a New York minute...
LO..., er, Lewy! This is a family blog!!
DeleteLewy, we had peaches but they were in a tin. I think fresh peaches were probably available but we could not afford them.
DeleteSame as fresh salmon, we only had canned. The first time I ever ate fresh salmon was in Canada.
We had pomegranates when I was growing up in Arizona in the sixties. I don't think I've had one since I was a teenager though.
ReplyDelete