Posted October 15, 2005
Last updated February 25, 2010
(see latest addition)
Jack Manischewitz of Rockville, Maryland, sent the following input on August 28, 2005:
I would like to comment on the Billboard Song in your Just for Laughs section.
Visitor Bill Fischer believes that the song first became known through country singers Homer and Jethro, and cites a 1957 recording of theirs. But this can’t be correct. My mother, who I recorded singing the song (by chance, also in 1957) stated on the recording that she learned the song as a girl sometime between 1918 and 1922, at a summer camp in Cincinnati. Her version of the song, which includes old some old references to things not known by most people today, follows:
As I was walking down the street, a billboard met my eye.
The advertisements written there would
make one laugh or cry.
The rain and snow had almost washed that old billboard away,
But the advertisements written there almost seemed to say:Oh! smoke a Coca-Cola, tomato catsup cigarettes;
See Lilian Russell struggling with a box of Caskorettes;
Pork and beans will meet tonight for a finish fight,
And Chauncey de Pugh will speak about Sapolio tonight.Oh! prunes are good for horses, the best that’s in the town.
Caskorettes cures the measles, if you pay ten dollars down.
Teeth extracted without much pain, if you pay but half a dime,
And overcoats will be worn tonight a little out of time.I hope the above is of some interest.
Jack
Kenneth Hoffman of Morristown, New Jersey, sent us the following on September 3, 2005. It’s similar to Jack’s version above, but this one is complete with explanations of each item mentioned.
Media in the Twenties
The nineteen twenties saw the start of some of our most treasured traditions—like over-the-counter medicine, radio and billboard advertising. Here’s one of many burlesque songs sung to me by my mother which typifies the popular attitude toward the topics of the day.
The Billboard Song
As I was walking down the street, a billboard met my eye.
The advertisements written there would make one laugh and cry.
The wind and the rain came down that night,
Washed half that board away.
The other half remaining there would make that billboard say:
Smoke a Coca Cola, Tomato catsup cigarettes,
See Lillian Russell Wrestle with a box of Castinettes.
Heinz Pork and Beans will meet again in a finish fight
And Silent Joe will speak about Sapolio tonight.
Get Bromo for the horses, it is the best in town.
Castoria kills the measles just pay five dollars down.
Teeth are removed without a pain, cost but half a dime
And overcoats are selling out a little at a time.In 1926 cigarettes were a new popular vice, even for women, and Coca Cola actually had some cocaine in it. Half the population viewed tomatoes as a poisonous fruit, even though catsup gained in popularity.
Well endowed Lillian Russell presented a titillating figure as a wrestler and especially with a box of crackers. Boxing in the twenties still featured bare knuckles fighting ending when one fighter remained prone.
Radio played new part in home entertainment with little music but much speech making by politicians but I doubt if they spoke about Sapolio Soap. Heavily advertised Bromo-seltzer was used mostly as a hangover cure but not for the horses which still plied the streets. With no antibiotics invented, Castoria (castor oil) acted as a remedy for most internal ills. Measles appeared on the scene, killing one in ten victims with no cure in sight.
Five dollars down was considered a bad way to over spend but was loved by the business community. Laughing gas was so popular that dentists could overcharge at will, hence the sarcasm. Nobody could afford to buy much of anything, not even an overcoat and gross exaggerations of the shortness of supply belied the reality of hard times.
A Google search revealed that this article appears in several places across the Internet, including once on PearlSoup.com (March 21, 2002) and once on EzineArticles com (September 29, 2005). Kenneth C. Hoffman is listed as the author of the article. My sincere thanks to him for allowing me to publish it on this site as well.
Due to the abundant (and apparently quite complete) information I have already received on this topic, this discussion is now officially closed. I humbly extend my sincere thanks to all who participated.
Comments have been officially closed on this page for quite some time now, but when Grandma Jo from Rochester, Michigan sent me an interesting variation of the song on February 15, 2010, I simply had to include it along with her comments:
Out of curiosity I went to Google to see if there was any such song as the “Billboard Song.” Sure enough, there is. This is a song my grandmother sang to me when I was a child. She was born in 1895 so you know it’s been around for a long time. I didn’t know if it was something she had made up or how it originated. I myself am now a grandmother and I’ve taught it to my children and they to their children as well. It’s a good campfire song. The words you have are very similiar to those that I learned but there’s a little variation. This is how I learned it.
As I was walking down the street
A billboard met my eye
The advertisements written there would make you laugh and cry.
The rain and snow had almost washed that old billboard away
But the advertisements written there would make that billboard say:Come smoke a Coca Cola, Tomato catsup cigarette
Watch Lillian wrestle wrastle with a box of oysterettes
Pork and beans will meet tonight in a fair unfinished fight
John Setapew will speak upon Sopolio tonight.Farina for your horses, the very best there is in town
Cascara for the measles if you pay ten dollars down
Teeth extracted without pain, a little at a time
Overcoats will sell tonight for the price of a half a dime.Basically the words are the same as you have given with just a little twist.
I guess I mostly wanted to let you know how old this song is. It’s a real “old timer.”