Song Lyric of the Day (George and Ira Gershwin, on Dating and "The Economic Situation")

“I’m tired of keeping up with the economic trends

And the universal problems that perplex;

Oh, tell me where I can find a man who condescends

To show an int’rest in sex.”—"The Economic Situation," music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, in Ira Gershwin: Selected Lyrics, edited by Robert Kimball (2009)

For The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, George Gershwin (1998-1937) and brother Ira (1896-1983) had “Miss Gherkin” (a young Eve Arden) and a group of chorus girls lament the terrible impact of hard times on their love lives. It’s not so much that anxiety and overwork lacerate the male libido, but rather that politically active intellectuals now show no interest in them whatsoever. 

I really had to chuckle, though, when I came across this couplet: 

“You’re looking your best, but he hasn’t noticed

For you’re up to your neck in the Taxpayers’ Protest.”

How did the Gershwins anticipate the Tea Party movement of the last decade?

Leave it to the wise, witty and brilliant brothers to make the nation chuckle even during the Great Depression.