Seriously, if we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Back when Sirius and XM's programming was combined, I said that I was looking forward to listening to the channel that plays music from the 1940s. The music that was popular before the Rock-and-Roll era is interesting, varied, and sometimes very silly. I am enjoying that addition to my satellite radio's programming.

There seems to have been a need for happy, silly songs back then. I guess with a war going on that was taking a terrible toll on the world, perhaps people got to have their spirits raised a bit by hearing these novelty songs.

Recently, I fell asleep while listening to the '40s channel. I woke up to a strange, silly song that started to sound familiar. It was "The Hut-Sut Song."

Why, you ask, would I be familiar with a silly song like that? Well, back at the turn of the millennium, there was a spate of obituaries of people who had written some of the World War II-era novelty songs. (This was at the real turn of the millennium, not that faux one when the whole, misled world, even the parts that don't use the Christian calendar, celebrated at the end of 1999. Fools!)

One of the obituaries that I remember was for Leo Killion, a co-author of "The Hut-Sut Song (A Swedish Serenade)."

Whenever I read about an obscure song like that I would head over to Napster and search for it. I miss Napster. I used it mostly as an on-demand radio service to listen to long out of print music. And my searches would find music I would never have encountered otherwise. For responsible people like me, Napster could have generated sales of recordings but it's gone. YouTube is mostly filling its role now.

I found several recordings of the song and smiled. I hadn't heard it since. Till that nap. And I got to smile again.

A few months after Mr. Killion's obituary ran, another novelty song's author's obituary came along. This one was for Jack McVea, the writer of "Open the Door, Richard." Off to Napster I went. There was The Merry Macs' version, a happy, cheerful story of somebody locked out of the apartment. And I found this version that includes the vaudeville routine that inspired the song. Not being part of the time, its appeal escapes me. I haven't heard it in any of its versions on Sirius XM.

By the way, did you know that the Andrews Sisters didn't realize that "Rum and Coca Cola" is a dirty song? And it was scandalous not just because of its celebration of prostitution but because it advocated drinking rum. And Coca Cola. And I thought that political correctness was a recent phenomenon.

While we're on the topic of laughing in lieu of insanity, here's a review of the latest Liō desk calendar: You should have bought the latest Liō desk calendar. It is full of wit and insight. This weekend's page fits the theme of this post.

But I digress...