How Are Things In Glocca Morra

Music, Burton Lane (1912–1997); words, Yip Harburg (1896–1981)

This song was written for the play Finian’s Rainbow. It is not known if the composers were aware of James Stevens’ novel, The Crock Of Gold (I read it at the age of 21, well worth a look), which refers to “The Leprechauns of Gort na Cloca Mora”, or if it was an odd coincidence. The song was a personal favorite of John F. Kennedy. In the TV Series All In The Family, Archie bunker refers to New York City as “ a regular Sodom and Glocca Morra”.

Burton Lane has quite a history. He was commissioned at the age of 14 to write a review, The Greenwich Village Follies. George Gershwin championed Burton Lane after seeing a review he wrote at the age of 18, and by the age of 21 he was writing for Hollywood. Burton Lane wrote songs for 30 movies, as well as the play, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. He is even credited with discovering 13-year old Francis Gumm, AKA Judy Garland. He saw her as part of a three-sister act, and called Jack Robbins, head of music for MGM, setting up an audition for Francis/Judy the next day at which he backed her up on piano. Robbins summoned studio head Lewis B. Meyer, who in turn ordered every writer, director, and producer on the lot to the audition, which lasted from 9am to 7pm. Burton Lane also wrote “How About You?”; “And Everything I Have is Yours”; “Mañana”; “Feudin’ Fussin’ and A-Fightin’” and “Old Devil Moon”, among others. He was born and died the same years as my father. Ira Gershwin introduced him to Yip Harburg, his collaborator on this song.

Yip Harburg’s Broadway career spanned 50 years and 500 songs. He was known as Broadway’s Social Conscience, writing “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime”, “April In Paris” and all the songs in the Wizard Of Oz. His social conscience got him blackballed by McCarthy and the House Un-American Committee. From 1951 to 1961 he was banned from radio and TV, but continued writing for Broadway, which remained a censorship-free zone.