What's the Use?

DESCRIPTION: "Some call this the best old world that nature could contrive. One thing's sure, that none of us get out of it alive.... Makes you sometimes wonder if anything's worthwhile." Questions include "What's the point of drinking if you always have a thirst"
AUTHOR: Edward Montagu (sheet music)
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: nonballad drink questions
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions, p. 198, "What's the Use?" (1 text)
Roud #9548
ALTERNATE TITLES:
So What's the Use
NOTES [139 words]: The sheet music of this is headlined, "Henry W. Savage Presents Raymond Hitchcock in 'The Yankee Tourist.'" The Internet Broadway Database says that "The Yankee Tourist" was a musical farce that had 111 shows on Broadway from August to November 1907. It was based on Richard Harding Davis's play "The Galloper"; Davis also wrote the book for the musical, with the songs mostly by Alfred G. Robyn and Wallace Irwin. There is o mention of Edward Montague, so one suspects that this was a song grafted in from another source. Additinal supporting evidence for this comes from the fact that this is not included in the song list. Singer Raymond Hitchcock played one Copeland Schuyler.
Montagu's original title was "So What's the Use" (without a question mark), but it appears that all traditional collections call it "What's the Use." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: SBar198

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