Under the Anheuser Bush
Under the Anheuser Bush was a popular beer garden song commissioned by the Anheuser-Busch brewing company in 1903. With music by Harry Von Tilzer and words by Andrew B. Sterling, the title contains a pun on the Old German toponym Busch (from busc- or bysc, one living near a thicket or wood[1] ).
Published by the Harry Von Tilzer Music Pub. Co., it follows on the success of Von Tilzer's 1902 beer garden composition Down Where The Wurzburger Flows[2].
The following lyrics are as popularised in a 1904 recording by the singer Billy Murray. In addition to the brief instrumental allusion (with oompah horns), the line come and have a stein or two is backed by the first bar of the German folk standard Oh du lieber Augustin:
- Come, come, come and make eyes with me
- Under the Anheuser bush
- Come, come drink some "Budweis" with me
- Under the Anheuser bush
- Hear the old German band... [band plays first bar of "Oh du lieber Augustin"]
- Just let me hold your hand - "Ja-a!"
- Do, do come and have a stein or two
- Under the Anheuser bush
An instrumental version of the song appears in the MGM movie Meet Me in St. Louis where Judy Garland is whirled around the dance floor by a number of prospective beaux.
Singer Florrie Forde popularised a British music hall version called Down at the Old Bull and Bush, referring to a north London public house--now a Grade II-listed Hampton Heath landmark with a bar named in her honour[3] .
References
- ^ "Last name: Busch". Surname Database. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "Down Where The Wurzburger Flows". The UT Sheet Music Collection. University of Tennessee Libraries -- UT Music Library -- Sheet Music Consortium. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "Florrie Forde". Artist Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
External links
- Billy Murray record of the song from 1905
- Billy Murray Anthology, CD - Published by Archeophone [1]
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