Since the rise of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B in the 1950s, song lyrics that find the singer trying to coerce someone into bed have been not at all uncommon, but it was quite different in the first half of the 20th century, no? Weren’t those more innocent days?
Not necessarily. Check out these lyrics from You’ll Do It Someday (So Why Not Now?), a song, composed by one Al Wrubel, that the popular crooner Rudy Vallee made famous in 1929. They may not quite qualify as graphically sexual, but subtle they’re not:
You’ll do it someday, so why not now?
Oh, won’t you let me try to show you how?
Think what you’re missing.
Oh, it’s a shame.
You’ll miss the kissing and the rest of the game.In open spaces, where men are men,
A chicken never waits till she’s a hen.
Don’t keep me waiting,
For I do vow,
You’ll do it someday, so why not now?
No shrinking violet was our Mr. Vallee — that’s a come-on to make Marvin Gaye proud!
The lyrics are perhaps not as surprising coming from Vallee, a singer who described himself late in life as having had … er, um … “a cock in my voice.” Vallee was indeed a sex symbol in his day, and it’s intriguing to ponder what was considered sexy in a singer in 1929 as opposed to today.
We’ve been playing the song on Cladrite Radio of late, but if you’ve missed it, you can hear it below. You can also see a clip of Vallee and the Yale Collegians performing the song here.
You’ll Do It Someday (So Why Not Now?) — Rudy Vallee and His Yale Collegians