Old Time Family Baseball

Jake, Jake the Yiddisher Ballplayer is important for a number of reasons:

It’s about a Jewish ballplayer, something I take a strong interest in.
It filled the gap between Lip Pike and Andy “Ice Cream” Cohen.
It’s the first time baseball sheet music featured a cthulu monster and/or flying saucer on the cover.
It’s the first written appearance of the Lalapalooza music festival.
It advocates murder.

A sampling of the lyrics:

“Please remove your hat. Who’s that at bat?

Did you say it’s Jakey Rosenstein? Fine!

On his hand, he’s got sand,

Look at him at the plate, he’s great

Maybe you don’t think that boy is great—wait!

Jake, now don’t you miss it,

Go on and kiss it,

Give it and knock and don’t you fake;

Go on and give it a smack, crack!

That’s a lalapaloosa!

Run, you son of a gun,

Run, you son of a gun,

What’s that I hear the people shout?

You’re out!

Jake, I lost my half a dollar,

Poison you should swallow, Jake.

Jake, you’re a regular fake.”

I tell you, people simply can’t write lyrics like they used to.

Sadly, this song appears to be the only one in popular recorded music history to not be set to a slide show of images on YouTube, so if you want to hear it, you’ll have to purchase it legally.

(Image via JScholarship)