"Sam, The Old Accordion Man," 1927 Tin Pan Alley song; sung by Ruth Etting & Doris Day

"Sam, The Old Accordion Man" is a 1927 Tin Pan Alley song with music and lyrics by Walter Donaldson, also known for    • "How 'Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the F...  

#1920smusic #jazzage #tinpanalley #roaring20smusic #roaring20s

The song was associated with popular 1920s singer Ruth Etting, who had a successful Broadway, recording, and Hollywood career. Etting's rise to stardom (she started out as a costume designer at the Marigold Gardens nightclub in Chicago before realizing her talent for singing) and her difficult relationship and marriage with Chicago gangster Martin Snyder (he initially helped her get nightclub jobs, but when she became a true success, he proved to be a liability due to his jealousy and controlling behavior) were transformed by Hollywood into the 1954 film Love Me Or Leave Me, starring Doris Day as Ruth Etting and Jimmy Cagney as Martin Snyder. Day sang "Sam, The Old Accordion Man" (and several other Etting favorites) in the film.

Lyric:
In Dixieland
There's a musical man
He has a good time just making folks happy
This musical man
Is a one-man band
Folks have to love him for makin' 'em glad
He doesn't play melodies, just plays blue harmonies
Just like nobody ever had

He just plays chords
That make you feel grand
They call him Sam
The old accordion man
His dreamy chords remind you of heaven
And they're real chords, according to Dixieland
In the evening, by the moonlight, when the sun is down
How those lovers, levee lovers, love to hang around
He plays those chords
Like nobody can
They call him Sam
The old accordion man

Old chords, new chords, funny old blue chords
Morning, night and noon
Say he's got chords, nothing but hot chords, never out of tune

He just plays chords
That make you feel grand
They call him Sam
The old accordion man
His dreamy chords remind you of heaven
And they're real chords, according to Dixieland
In the evening, by the moonlight, when the sun is down
How those lovers, levee lovers, love to hang around
He plays those chords
Like nobody can
They call him Sam
The old accordion man