The Pittsburgh Press (October 29, 1944)
If you have swoons –
Sinatra, speaking for common man, introduces Vice President
Don’t look, Dewey, sings Ethel Merman
If you have swoons, prepare to swoon them now. Frank Sinatra reached the pinnacle of his career last Thursday night when he was chosen to introduce the Vice President, Henry A. Wallace, over a national network.
For the benefit of the Sinatra audience – some of whom may have been put to bed by their parents before the rather late broadcasting hour, and others of whom may have swooned before the climax – we have secured from the Blue Network the text of his oration. It is the story of the “average citizen” and the “little man” – of whom The Voice said he is one.
Sinatra shared the program with Ethel Merman of musical comedy fame (Anything Goes, Du Barry Was a Lady, Something for the Boys, and others). Ethel finished off the program with a campaign song, “Don’t Look, Mr. Dewey, Your Record Is Showing.”
‘Thrilled and excited’
Sinatra didn’t sing – just talked. Mr. Wallace was sandwiched in between Frank’s oration and Ethel’s song. The Ladies Garment Workers Union paid for the broadcast.
Sinatra began:
This is a new experience for me, and I am thrilled and excited and eager about it, because it is the first time in my life that I am going to make a political speech.
I imagine most people associate me with the world of entertainment, but tonight I want to step out of this world for just a few minutes to tell you how I feel about something that is as important to me and my children as it is to you and your children and your loved ones on the far-flung battlefields of the world.
I want to tell you why I am for the reelection of Franklin D. Roosevelt. I am speaking as an average citizen, as a father and an American.
For the younger generation
It seems to me that never in the history of this great nation of ours have you and I and, above all, the younger generation, had so much at stake.
And I believe that the great problems of the post-war world, the military problems at this very moment, can be worked out and will be worked out under the leadership of the man in the White House – our Commander-in-Chief.
I cannot help thinking back for a moment to those apple-selling days when thousands of kids roamed the countryside because there wasn’t enough for them to eat at home – the days of the long lines of men and women seeking jobs that weren’t there. Gone are those days – gone, let us hope, forever – and don’t let us forget it was our great President who worked out with his advisers the program of social security, unemployment insurance, CCC camps for boys, NYA, better housing, all of which made up a pattern for a better life.
Can there be a question in anyone’s mind that Franklin D. Roosevelt is qualified by such experience and background to work with the statesmen of our allies so that our children and our grandchildren, and even we, can live in a world of peace and security?
I have yet to read a single sentence or hear a word spoken that logically denies the achievements of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the past, and his ability and astuteness to cope with the problems of the future.
Those who have spoken against him, it seems to me, have indulged in carping and unfair criticism and have failed to make even a dent in the intellectual armor of the President.
One of the common people
And let me say just one word, or perhaps repeat what I have said once before, and that is – what I like most about the President is, he is pretty fond of the little man. In that respect I guess he is just like Abraham Lincoln, who once said that God liked the common people because he made so many of them. Well, I am one of them – even with all my good fortune. Don’t let the common man down – keep Franklin D. Roosevelt in the White House.
Then came the supreme moment of this spokesman for the common man – his introduction of the Vice President.
He said:
Now it is my privilege, my great honor, to present the symbol of the common man – the symbol of an American to the rest of the world – the Vice President of the United States, Henry A. Wallace.
Mr. Wallace delivered a prediction that Roosevelt would win by over three million votes, and then Sinatra returned to the radio to introduce Ethel Merman’s song.
‘Don’t Look, Dewey’
Sinatra said:
Once to every woman, my wife included, comes that embarrassing moment when a friend whispers kindly, “Don’t look now, but your slip is showing.” “Well, there’s no whispering when this girl’s step up to the microphone to sing… and what she has to sing about can be shouted from the housetops. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Ethel Merman with E. Y. Harburg’s new song – “Don’t Look Now, Mr. Dewey! (But Your Record Is Showing).”
Because of the newsprint shortage, we can’t risk our paper quota by printing all of Ethel’s song, but here are some high spots that carry the idea of campaigning 1944 style:
…the ship of state, oh the ship of state
Is not the Albany night boat,
And when the people turn out to vote,
Somebody is going to miss that boat.Chorus—
Don’t look now, Mr. Dewey,
But your record is showing…
Your new-deal trousers are smart, no doubt.
But the old-deal short tails are sticking out.
Don’t look now, Mr. Dewey,
But your record is fooey;
The soldier vote you jumbled,
On Russia you jumbled,
On lend-lease you brumbled,
On world peace you mumbled,
The dumb’lls you’ve assembled
Will be stumble-bumbled–
So, Dewey,
Don’t look now.