Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? - Wikipedia Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? For the 1975 documentary film, see Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? ( film ). `` Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? '' Sheet music cover for Americana Song by Jay Gorney and E.Y. `` Yip '' Harburg Written 1930 Genre American pop Composer ( s ) Jay Gorney Lyricist ( s ) E.Y. `` Yip '' Harburg `` Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? '' Rudy Vallee 's recording is one of the most famous versions. Problems playing this file ? See media help. `` Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? '', also sung as `` Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime ? '', is one of the best - known American songs of the Great Depression. Written in 1930 by lyricist E.Y. `` Yip '' Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, `` Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? '' was part of the 1932 musical revue Americana ; the melody is based on a Russian - Jewish lullaby Gorney 's mother had sung to him as a child. It was considered by Republicans to be anti-capitalist propaganda, and almost dropped from the show ; attempts were made to ban it from the radio. The song became best known, however, through recordings by Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee. They were released right before Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's election to the presidency. The Brunswick Crosby recording made on October 25, 1932 with Lennie Hayton and his Orchestra became the best - selling record of its period, and came to be viewed as an anthem to the shattered dreams of the era. Contents 1 Summary 2 Musical structure 3 Update 4 Other recordings 5 Notes 6 External links Summary In the song a beggar talks back to the system that stole his job. Gorney said in an interview in 1974 `` I did n't want a song to depress people. I wanted to write a song to make people think. It is n't a hand - me - out song of ' give me a dime, I 'm starving, I 'm bitter ', it was n't that kind of sentimentality ''. The song asks why the men who built the nation -- built the railroads, built the skyscrapers -- who fought in the war ( World War I ), who tilled the earth, who did what their nation asked of them should, now that the work is done and their labor no longer necessary, find themselves abandoned and in bread lines. Asking for an act of charity, the singer requests a Dime ( equivalent to $1.46 in 2017 ). It refers to `` Yankee Doodle Dum '', a reference to patriotism, and the evocation of veterans also recalls protests about military bonuses payable only after 21 years, which were a topical issue. Musical structure The song has unusual structure for a Broadway song. Firstly, rather than starting in a major key, as most Broadway songs do, it begins in a minor key, which is darker and more appropriate for the Depression. When discussing the prosperous past and building the railroads, the song jumps an octave and moves briefly into a major key, evoking energy and optimism. It then reverts to the augmented dominant of the minor key in the word `` time '' in the line `` Once I built a railroad, made it run / Made it race against time, '' marking the end of prosperous times, and changing to a wistful mood. The song then ends, not on a note of resignation, but with anger -- repeating the beginning ( as is usual for Broadway songs ), an octave higher, but with a significant change : the friendly `` Brother, can you spare a dime ? '' is replaced with the more assertive `` Buddy, can you spare a dime ? '' Update During the malaise of the 1970s stagflation, the New York Times asked Harburg to update `` Brother '' for a new age, and he responded with : Once we had a Roosevelt Praise the Lord ! Life had meaning and hope. Now we 're stuck with Nixon, Agnew, Ford, Brother, can you spare a rope ? Other recordings The Dave Brubeck Quartet released a jazz instrumental arrangement of the piece on their 1955 album, Brubeck Time ; Brubeck plays main phrase on piano in many styles including rag and baroque. Peter, Paul & Mary recorded a studio version under the title `` Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime ? '' for their 1965 album See What Tomorrow Brings. The Youngbloods released a version of the song on their 1967 debut album, Jesse Colin Young & The Youngbloods. Spanky and Our Gang, on the group 's 1967 album of the same name, featuring lead singer Elaine MacFarlane. Judy Collins recorded a studio version of this song in her 1975 Judith ( album ). Ronnie Lane recorded a version in 1975, which was released as a single. Abbey Lincoln sang this jazz standard on her album You Gotta Pay the Band ( 1991 ) accompanied by prestigious jazz musicians as Stan Getz, Hank Jones and Charlie Haden. Les Deux Love Orchestra recorded a version in 2009 which appeared on The Huffington Post. George Michael recorded a version for his 1999 album Songs from the Last Century and his live album Symphonica. A recording by Walker Edmiston is featured during the Great Depression scene of The American Adventure attraction at Epcot within Walt Disney World Resort. Notes Jump up ^ Information from playbill on musical `` Americana '', Belknap Playbill and Program Collection Jump up ^ Forward : review of Yip Harburg : Legendary Lyricist and Human Rights Activist, Harriet Hyman Alonso, Wesleyan University Press, 2012 ^ Jump up to : American Dreamers : How the Left Changed a Nation, Michael Kazin, pub. Random House, p176. Extracts Jump up ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame : EY Harburg biography Jump up ^ `` A Bing Crosby Discography ''. BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved April 23, 2017. Jump up ^ Giddins, G. ( 2001 ). Bing Crosby : A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years, 1903 - 1940. Little, Brown, p. 305. Jump up ^ Said by Gorney in a 1974 interview, an excerpt of which was transmitted on BBC2 television programme `` The Story of the Jews '' part 4 by Simon Schama on 22 September 2013 at 21 : 00 Jump up ^ Marching on Washington : The Forging of an American Political Tradition, Lucy G. Barber, 2004 p. 104 Jump up ^ The Twentieth Century : A People 's History, by Howard Zinn, p. 116 Jump up ^ A Depression - Era Anthem For Our Times National Public Radio 's Weekend Edition ( November 15, 2008 ). Jump up ^ Song by song : the lives and work of 14 great lyric writers, Caryl Brahms, Ned Sherrin, p. 125 -- 126 Jump up ^ Cutting edge, or, `` Back in the knife - box, Miss Sharp '' : Ned Sherrin 's anthology of wit, Ned Sherrin, 1984, p. 140 ( rope, dime ) Jump up ^ Edwards, Bob ( 2011 ). A voice in the box my life in radio. ( S.l. ) : The University Press of Kentucky. p. 109. ISBN 0813140455. Retrieved 2 September 2014. Jump up ^ `` See What Tomorrow Brings - Peter, Paul and Mary ''. AllMusic. Jump up ^ The Youngbloods, Jesse Colin Young & The Youngbloods Retrieved June 12, 2015 Jump up ^ `` Spanky and Our Gang - Spanky & Our Gang ''. AllMusic. Jump up ^ `` Judith - Judy Collins ''. AllMusic. Jump up ^. Discogs http://www.discogs.com/Ronnie-Lane-Brother-Can-You-Spare-A-Dime/master/553284. Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` You Gotta Pay the Band - Abbey Lincoln, Stan Getz ''. AllMusic. Jump up ^ Woods, Bobby ( May 25, 2011 ). `` Brother, Can You Spare a Dime ? ''. Huffington Post. Retrieved 2011 - 11 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Songs from the Last Century ''. AllMusic. Jump up ^ `` The American Adventure ''. WDWMagic.com. External links Songs of the Great Depression -- lyrics, prepared by Professor Catherine Lavender for courses in The Department of History, The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York. Explanation of lyrics There are multiple videos of this song on YouTube. Included at the time of this note are the Bing Crosby & Rudy Vallee recordings and at least one Spanish language version. Bing Crosby Discography Filmography Albums Music of Hawaii ( 1939 ) Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One ( 1939 ) Patriotic Songs for Children ( 1939 ) Cowboy Songs ( 1939 ) Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two ( 1939 ) George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One ( 1939 ) Ballad for Americans ( 1940 ) Favorite Hawaiian Songs ( 1940 ) Christmas Music ( 1940 ) Star Dust ( 1940 ) Hawaii Calls ( 1941 ) Small Fry ( 1941 ) Crosbyana ( 1941 ) Under Western Skies ( 1941 ) Song Hits from Holiday Inn ( w / Fred Astaire ) ( 1942 ) Merry Christmas ( 1945 ) Selections from Going My Way ( 1945 ) Selections from The Bells of St. Mary 's ( 1946 ) Do n't Fence Me In ( 1946 ) The Happy Prince ( 1946 ) Selections from Road to Utopia ( 1946 ) Bing Crosby -- Stephen Foster ( 1946 ) What We So Proudly Hail ( 1946 ) Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One ( 1946 ) Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two ( 1946 ) Blue Skies ( w / Fred Astaire ) ( 1946 ) Bing Crosby -- Jerome Kern ( 1946 ) St. Patrick 's Day ( 1947 ) Bing Crosby -- Victor Herbert ( 1947 ) Selections from Welcome Stranger ( 1947 ) Our Common Heritage ( 1947 ) El Bingo ( 1947 ) The Small One ( 1947 ) The Man Without a Country ( 1947 ) Drifting and Dreaming ( 1947 ) Blue of the Night ( 1948 ) Selections from Showboat ( 1948 ) The Emperor Waltz ( 1948 ) St. Valentine 's Day ( 1948 ) Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters ( 1948 ) Selections from Road to Rio ( 1948 ) Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer ( 1948 ) Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan ( 1948 ) Auld Lang Syne ( 1948 ) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur 's Court ( 1949 ) Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin ( 1949 ) South Pacific ( 1949 ) Christmas Greetings ( 1949 ) Ichabod -- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ( 1949 ) Top o ' the Morning / Emperor Waltz ( 1949 ) Songs from Mr. Music ( 1950 ) Go West Young Man ( 1950 ) Le Bing : Song Hits of Paris ( 1953 ) Some Fine Old Chestnuts ( 1954 ) Selections from White Christmas ( 1954 ) Bing : A Musical Autobiography ( 1954 ) High Tor ( 1956 ) A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World ( 1956 ) High Society ( w / Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Louis Armstrong ) ( 1956 ) Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around ( 1956 ) Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings ( 1956 ) Bing with a Beat ( 1957 ) A Christmas Story ( 1957 ) Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves ( 1957 ) Never Be Afraid ( 1957 ) Jack B. Nimble -- A Mother Goose Fantasy ( 1957 ) New Tricks ( 1957 ) Fancy Meeting You Here ( w / Rosemary Clooney ) ( 1958 ) How the West Was Won ( 1959 ) Bing & Satchmo ( w / Louis Armstrong ) ( 1960 ) 101 Gang Songs ( 1960 ) Holiday in Europe ( 1960 ) The Road to Hong Kong ( 1962 ) On the Happy Side ( 1962 ) On the Sentimental Side ( 1962 ) I Wish You a Merry Christmas ( 1962 ) Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre ( 1963 ) Return to Paradise Islands ( 1963 ) Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits ( 1963 ) America, I Hear You Singing ( w / Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) ( 1964 ) 12 Songs of Christmas ( w / Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) ( 1964 ) That Travelin ' Two - Beat ( w / Rosemary Clooney ) ( 1965 ) Bing ' n ' Basie ( w / Count Basie ) ( 1972 ) A Couple of Song and Dance Men ( w / Fred Astaire ) ( 1975 ) Seasons ( 1977 ) Bing Crosby : The Voice of Christmas ( 1998 ) Family Dixie Lee ( first wife ) Gary Crosby ( son ) Dennis Crosby ( son ) Phillip Crosby ( son ) Lindsay Crosby ( daughter ) Kathryn Crosby ( second wife ) Harry Crosby ( son ) Mary Crosby ( daughter ) Nathaniel Crosby ( son ) Denise Crosby ( granddaughter ) Larry Crosby ( brother ) Bob Crosby ( brother ) Related Songs Bing Crosby recorded multiple times A Tribute to Bing Crosby Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brother,_Can_You_Spare_a_Dime%3F&oldid=833731156 '' Categories : 1931 songs Bing Crosby songs The Youngbloods songs Songs from musicals Songs with lyrics by Yip Harburg Songs with music by Jay Gorney Great Depression songs Hidden categories : Pages with citations lacking titles Pages with citations having bare URLs Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français עברית Norsk Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 2 April 2018, at 03 : 51. 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Question: who sang buddy can you spare a dime
Answer: Bing Crosby; Bing Crosby