{"id":3247,"date":"2023-03-02T02:11:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T02:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/?page_id=3247"},"modified":"2026-06-23T19:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T23:53:08","slug":"a-simple-melody","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/a-simple-melody\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Melody"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[WARNING: This song contains antiquated racial stereotypes. It is presented here for historical and educational purposes only.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 1914 Popular Song.<br>Title on title page is \u201cSimple Melody.\u201d<br>Words and Music by Irving Berlin.<br>Cover Art by Albert W. Barbelle.<br>Copyright \u00a92 Dec 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first of Irving Berlin\u2019s famous \u201cdouble songs,\u201d a duet featuring \u201cSimple Song\u201d and \u201cMusical Demon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sheet music:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Wont-You-Play-A-Simple-Melody-1.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Won&apos;t You Play A Simple Melody - Sheet Music.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-1e1371eb-4a86-4684-8c7a-ac8051e00bc2\" href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Wont-You-Play-A-Simple-Melody-1.pdf\">Won&#8217;t You Play A Simple Melody &#8211; Sheet Music<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Wont-You-Play-A-Simple-Melody-1.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-1e1371eb-4a86-4684-8c7a-ac8051e00bc2\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sheet music from the musical &#8220;Watch Your Step&#8221;<br>Words and Music by Irving Berlin<br>Cover Art (both covers) by Albert W. Barbelle<br>Copyright \u00a92 Dec 1914<br>Sheet Music from the collection of Michael Deatz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Simple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-1.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Simple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-1 - Sheet Music.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-d0d3ea80-6ee0-4861-8f8c-8d3756090a80\" href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Simple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-1.pdf\">Simple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-1 &#8211; Sheet Music<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Simple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-1.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-d0d3ea80-6ee0-4861-8f8c-8d3756090a80\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alternative from musical &#8220;Watch Your Step&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SImple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-2.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of SImple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-2 - Sheet Music.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-1b17f5f8-1c86-43b1-bd36-aca49e3d6917\" href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SImple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-2.pdf\">SImple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-2 &#8211; Sheet Music<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SImple-Melody-WATCH-YOUR-STEP-2.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-1b17f5f8-1c86-43b1-bd36-aca49e3d6917\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-cab73a20-e794-4f92-afbb-164256488d01\" href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Simple_Melody_1914_s_JPP.mid\">Simple_Melody &#8211; MIDI<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Simple_Melody_1914_s_JPP.mid\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-cab73a20-e794-4f92-afbb-164256488d01\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lyrics<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. The diff\u2019rent lays of nowadays<br>All set my brain a-whirl<br>They\u2019re not the kind of songs they sang<br>When mother was a girl<br>Your spoony rags and coony drags<br>All made my poor heart ache<br>Bring back the rhymes of olden times<br>And just for old times sake<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chorus<br>Won\u2019t you play a simple melody<br>Like my mother sang to me<br>One with good old fashioned harmony<br>Play a simple melody<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rag Version<br>Musical Demon, set your honey a dreamin\u2019<br>Won\u2019t you play me some rag<br>Just change that classical nag<br>To some sweet beautiful drag<br>If you will play from a copy of a tune that is choppy<br>You\u2019ll get all my applause<br>And that is simply because<br>I want to listen to Rag<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. In days of yore, before the war<br>When hearts now old were young<br>At home each night by firelight<br>Those dear old songs were sung<br>Sweet melodies their memories<br>Around my heart still cling<br>That\u2019s why I long to hear a song<br>Like mother used to sing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sung here by Fred Feild:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G0XsxIHlOU8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[WARNING: This song contains antiquated racial stereotypes. It is presented here for historical and educational purposes only.] A 1914 Popular Song.Title on title page is \u201cSimple Melody.\u201dWords and Music by Irving Berlin.Cover Art by Albert W. Barbelle.Copyright \u00a92 Dec 1914. The first of Irving Berlin\u2019s famous \u201cdouble songs,\u201d a duet featuring \u201cSimple Song\u201d and \u201cMusical &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/a-simple-melody\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;A Simple Melody&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3247","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/Pa3ZiQ-Qn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5662,"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3247\/revisions\/5662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheetmusicsinger.com\/highbrownsongs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}