It's May, a time when the air is filled with birdsong, the scent of flowers, and the sound of race cars...at least here in Indianapolis. What better month to dedicate to the 1913 pop song, Gasoline? Yes, I know I usually choose a moon-related song to feature for the day of the full moon, but it's the month of the Indy 500 and concessions have to be made!
The Indy 500's first running was in 1911, just two years before Paul Pratt and J. Will Callahan's Gasoline was released. It was a time when the automobile was transitioning from noisy novelty to mainstay requirement and, if you comb through archives of old magazines, manners books, and other media, you know the attitude toward all things automotive was less than appreciative. Knowing this, it's probably not surprising the lyric takes on a cynical tone:
"Gasoline! Gasoline!
Ev'rywhere you go you smell it,
Ev'ry motor seems to yell it.
Gasoline! Gasoline!
That's the cry that echoes thro' your dreams.
Gasoline! Gasoline!
In this land of milk and honey
'Tisn't love—isn't money
Rules the world, now ain't it funny?
Gasoline! Gasoline!"
Of course, gasoline isn't the drink of choice for today's Indy cars. In fact it's been a long time since Gasoline Alley actually dispensed gasoline. Still, it seemed a good choice for the month of may. Now in June I'll get back to the usually crooning at the moon...and hopefully find a recording to put on the site too!
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