Judge, 1928-12-01 · page 19 of 36
Judge — December 1, 1928 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents sheet music for a romantic ballad with humorous lyrics. The song depicts a man making elaborate promises to return to his sweetheart—"back when poppies glow," "when the mignonette is blooming," and "when the lilac bush" spreads its fragrance. The joke lies in the final lines' deflation of romance: he'll return "unless I'm severely shot" and warns her to "watch your step" while he's gone—implying either infidelity or that she should be cautious in his absence. The cherub illustration at top right and the "Lantern Slides by S.J. Perelman" credit (visible at bottom) suggest this satirizes sentimental Victorian ballads popular in that era. The contrast between flowery romantic language and the cynical threat/warning at the end is the satire—mocking melodramatic love songs and insincere male declarations of devotion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
_ OR FR chorus fi eS = SSS mur-mured =. in an as - sur-ing tone: —— “TH be tell her what | told her once be-fore:” —— did - nt think he meant it when he said: biti iit EE Dear, I'll be bias) 3} = * back when pop-pies glow a-midst the grain; When the mig-non-ette is bloom-ing, So oS rs =" pare cod cs-curcng IN cone back to the one 1 De o- goin, When the i) = ——_—— li-lac bush its fra- grance flings a-bout you, I'll come (snao a aR a ——————— stag-gring up the dai-sy sprink-led lawn; Un-less Im se-vere-ly shot, Ill be mm Se i Es ——— sas te = back as like as not;-So youd bet-ter watch your step, De ae Tm gone!’ Lantern Slides by S.J Pe relman comicbooks.com