"Beer Barrel Polka", originally in Czech"Škoda lásky", also known as "The Barrel Polka", "Roll Out the Barrel", or "Rosamunde", is a 1927 polka composed by Czech musicianJaromír Vejvoda. Lyrics were added in 1934, subsequently gaining worldwide popularity duringWorld War II as adrinking song.[1]
In 1927, the music for the polka was composed by the Czech musicianJaromír Vejvoda.[2][3]: 131 Eduard Ingriš wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came up with the melody and sought Ingriš's help in refining it. At that time, it was played without lyrics as"Modřanská polka" (English:"Polka ofModřany").[4]
In 1934, the first text for the polka was written by Vašek Zeman – with the title"Škoda lásky"(English:"Unrequited Love"[a])[3]: 131 [5] Around that same time,Shapiro Bernstein acquired the rights to the song and English lyrics were written byLew Brown and Wladimir Timm. Zeman's original Czech lyrics framed thepolka as a love song, whereas Brown and Timm's English version framed it as a song celebrating the repeal ofProhibition in the United States. At first the English version of the song was relatively unknown and unpopular, but it gained a great deal of popularity afterThe Andrews Sisters recorded it in 1939.[3]: 131–33 . Subsequently, many other artists released versions, including theGlenn Miller Orchestra;Benny Goodman;Bobby Vinton;[6]: 330 Billie Holiday;John Serry Sr (RCA Thesaurus, 1954)[7] and Joe Patek, who sold over a million copies of his album "Beer Barrel Polka".[5][8]
The polka soon became famous around the world. In 1939 Will Glahé recorded an instrumental version that was a big hit in the United States, being ranked #3 by the radio programYour Hit Parade in June of that year.[3]: 132 .[9]: 1662 The June 17, 1939 edition ofBillboard magazine noted that "Beer Barrel Polka" was the 12th most popular song by radio plays on New York City radio stationsWJZ,WEAF andWABC. Daniel Richman wrote "There's hardly a [jukebox] machine from Maine to California that still isn't inviting patrons to roll out the barrel, and from all indications it will probably be another couple of weeks before the 'roll out' can be changed to 'throw out.'"[10]: 13, 76
During World War II, versions in many other languages were created and the song was popular among soldiers, regardless of their allegiances.[1][11] Italian writerPrimo Levi wrote that when he was deported toAuschwitz, thecamp's orchestra was playingRosamunda, the German version of "Beer Barrel Polka," as he arrived.[12] According toTIME magazine, when the first Australian contingent of troops arrived in England, they were singing the polka.[13] OnVE Day — May 8 or 9, 1945 —Humphrey Lyttelton played it standing on a handcart outsideBuckingham Palace, a performance that could be heard in the BBC broadcast from the victory celebrations.[14][15]
It was claimed many times that the song was written in the country where it had just become a hit.TIME wrote that "Germans insisted it was an old Bavarian drinking song. Americans and British thought it was one of their own. Anyhow, they all sang it."[11] Its actual composer was not widely known until after the war.[4]
Bobby Vinton recorded "Beer Barrel Polka" in 1975. The song was released as the follow-up single to his multi-million selling "My Melody of Love" and reached number 33 on theBillboard, number 45 on theCashbox Top 40 hit charts and number 51 in Australia.[6]: 330 The success of the single, which was particularly popular on jukeboxes, led to its inclusion on Vinton'sHeart of Hearts album in 1975.
The theme was interpreted in Spanish over the years by various artists such as Manolita Arriola[23] from Mexico, Elsa Valladares from Cuba, Gildardo Montoya and El Grupo Venezuela, Los Hermanos Corrales from Colombia,[24] the group "Los Mismos" from Spain, Anteojito from Argentina, among others.
AtSan Jose Giants home games, a batter from the opposing team is designated the "beer batter." If the San Jose pitcher strikes out that batter, beer is half price in the beer only lines for the 15 minutes immediately following the strike out.[28] The PA system plays "Beer Barrel Polka" whenever the beer batter comes to the plate and after every strike during the beer batter's at-bat.[29]
Pro wrestlerCrusher Lisowski used the song as his entrance music,[30][page needed] and would often growl out a few bars of it during interviews.[31]
The Germanfootball clubBayern München use the tune of"Rosamunde" for their songFC Bayern, lala lalala lala.[32]
InCarl Davis's 1990 score for 1916 epic silent dramaIntolerance, Davis incorporates the Beer Barrel Polka at the "Strike" scene at 17:33,[34][35] despite the scene taking place in 1916, a decade before the song was written.
It was sung in the final scene of theRumpole of the Bailey television episode, "Rumpole and the Alternative Society" (1977).[36]
InM*A*S*H season 10 episode 2 ("That's Show Biz, Part 2"), Eleanor Carlyle plays the song on piano at officers' club in after she says that "EvenDvorak andBrahms wrote folk dances" toMajor Winchester.[37]
In theFrasier episode, "Where Every Bloke Knows Your Name,"Frasier Crane and his new friends sing "Roll Out the Barrel" in a British-style pub as a frustrated, and bewilderedDaphne Moon looks on.[38]
^Solomon, Brian (2000).Pro Wrestling FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Most Entertaining Spectacle. Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN9781617136283.
^abThirouin, Marie-Odile (2021). "Škoda lásky ou le fabuleux destin d'une petite polka tchèque" [Škoda lásky or the fabulous destiny of a little Czech polka].Faire l'Europe par la culture / Europäisierung durch Kultur (in French):129–172.
^Pollock, David; Davis, Elias; Koenig, Dennis (1981-10-26). "That's Show Biz, Part 2".M*A*S*H. Season 10. Episode 2. Relevant scene from 11:10-11:32. CBS.
^Hanning, Rob (1998-01-06). "Where Every Bloke Knows Your Name".Frasier. Season 5. Episode 10. Relevant scene from 8:48-9:40. CBS.
^The Czech title has been translated into English in slightly different ways by various sources, but all capture the same basic meaning. For example,Greene (1992) says "Unrequited Love",Vallier (2021) says "Wasted Love," andLarkin (1992) says "Lost Love"
