| Track of the Day - 10/23/07 |
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Various Artists - New Faces of 1952 - Lizzie Borden
Listen to New Faces of 1952 - Lizzie Borden on Rhapsody
I figured we would go for something slightly different for today's horror track of the day and pull a song based on one of our Dark Destinations. Theatrical productions and the horror genre have a long-standing history with one another. From the early days of The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus and MacBeth to today's long-running Phantom of the Opera, it isn't uncommon to find the horror genre being played out in front of live audiences.
The Lizzie Borden trial was the O.J. Simpson trial of its time. On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. Their deaths at the end of an axe were a grisly affair and it didn't take long for suspicion to fall on the daughter, Lizzie Borden. Her trial was a media sensation and everyone seemed to cast his or her opinion of Lizzie's guilt or innocence. In the end, she was acquitted for the crime but remained ostracized by society, who was convinced she was guilty, for the rest of her life.
Lizzie Borden was one song from the Broadway production, New Faces of 1952, which was a bit of a hodge-podge of comedy skits that were loosely connected. Yes, comedy. As you will see, the folks back in 1952 had a very macabre sense of humor as well. The song even seems to imply that the quick verdict in Lizzie's case may have had less to do with her innocence and more to do with the fact that the town was in a hurry to get to their hoedown.
Now, It wasn't done for pleasure and it wasn't done for spite
And it wasn't done because the lady wasn't very bright
She'd always done the slightest thing that mom and dad had bid
They said, "Lizzie cut it out!" so that's exactly what she did
But you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
And then get dressed and go out for a walk
No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a far cry from New York
Michael Brown penned the tune for the play, which was later adapted as a motion picture in 1954 as New Faces. The play help launched the careers of actors/singers of Bewitched co-stars Paul Lynde and Alice Ghostly, as well as Eartha Kitt. It also gave a boost to skit writer Melvin Brooks, who would later shorten his name to the more familiar, Mel Brooks. In an odd twist, Lynde and Ghostly's co-star on Bewitched was Elizabeth Montgomery, who would later portray Lizzie Borden in the 1975 made-for-TV film, The Legend of Lizzie Borden.
The song Lizzie Borden is alternatively known as You Can't Chop Your Papa Up In Massachusetts and Fall River Hoedown and was covered by the folk band, Chad Mitchell Trio Recording in 1961. The story of Lizzie Borden and the unsolved murders live on in Fall River as well. In fact, the house the murders took place in is now the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast where guests can stay in the actual room that Abby Borden died in and breakfast the next day is completed with sugar cookies shaped like tiny axes.
This entry was edited on October 23, 2007, 6:38 pm.
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October 23, 2007, 6:31 pm |
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