Not a show tune, but memory dredges up from my Fifties childhood a pop tune called "1492." It must have been popular about 1955 or '56. The first stanza's lyric was,
"If you were Chris Columbus back in 1492,
America might be discovered--but not by you!
You'd never sail across the sea,
You'd never change geography,
'Cause you'd be staying right by me
In 1492!"
The other stanzas moved on to other "heroes" of history (Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell), who would never have had time to do the things they did, the female singer averred, because she would have kept them too thoroughly entertained with other pursuits. But still, the title was "1492." |
