Give Me the Simple Life

Writer: 
Ruby/Bloom
Year: 
1946
Voices: 
Men's four part
Ranges: 

Tenor: B4 - B5
Lead: E3 - E4
Bari: F#3 - F#4
Bass: F#2 - A#3

This song appeared in the movie Enchanted Voyage (1946), sung by John Payne's character to his little sister (played by Connie Marshall) as they drive along in a horse and trap. Its lyrics express affection - even nostalgia - for a rural lifestyle, unworried by the stresses and difficulties of the sophisticated big city types. These sentiments are clothed in a melody that gives a sense that it relaxes as it rolls through each phrase towards its ideal of simplicity.

The tempo is a gentle swing, though there is a surprising amount of syncopation around given the song's message - perhaps the songerwriters wanted to point out that this is a character who makes a conscious choice to turn away from modernity, not a hayseed who has never made the comparison.

The arrangement is suitable for barbershop contest (BHS system).