Bernard Parker of St. Petersburg peers over his prized sheet music. Parker is a retired president of Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass.
Bernard Parker, 64, has collected World War I sheet music for 15 years. His collection of about 500 songs will be on display next month at the St. Petersburg Main Library, 3745 Ninth Ave. N, beginning Jan. 2.
Why World War I sheet music?
I was collecting music, sheet music, only the large folios. These large folios like this were printed before 1920. And then I just got very interested because of the covers, like this is a cover by Norman Rockwell of probably the most famous piece of World War I music, Over There by George M. Cohan. It was written in 1917 and it's just as popular today. In fact, I have an audio tape: Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gun. Take it on the run, on the run, on the run . . .
What exactly is this song about, all I know is "over there, over there."
The idea was they were going to go "over there" and fight. . . . Irving Berlin was another famous person who wrote songs in World War I. And this one most people know, too: "Oh, I hate to get up, I hate to get up, I hate to get up in the morning!" He wrote this because he was drafted into boot camp in New Jersey and that was what he hated the most.
I know the beat, but is that what they're saying? They say that so fast . . .
I know: "Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning! Oh, how I love to remain in bed. For the hardest blow of all, is to hear the bugler's call. You've got to get up, you've got to get up. You've got to get up this morning! Some day I'm going to murder the bugler. Some day they're going to find him dead. I'll amputate his reveille, and step upon it heavily and spend the rest of my life in bed."
So you sing. Were you ever in a choir?
Yes, I used to sing in a very large chorus. In fact I've toured in Europe with the chorus. And one of my goals was to learn how to play the concertina, which I have in there, dress up as a World War I guy and sing all these songs. But I don't think I'm ever going to make it. That's kind of my, you know, crazy thing I'd love to do someday.
Why don't you just do it?
It's just a question of time.
And you need to learn how to play the concertina?
Yes, right. . . . I've had the concertina for a long time and I can make noise with it. . . . This is what they used in World War I to play. It's like a little accordion. (Piercing screeches are heard as Parker tries to play the concertina.)
Uh, where do you think you would sing these songs?
