Historic Sheet Music Collection

Authors

Irving Berlin

Document Type

Score

Publication Date

1914

Comments

New York: Waterson Berlin & Snyder Co. Music Publishers (1914)

Broadway at 47th Street

Some of these resources may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes. Such materials should be seen in the context of the time period and as a reflection of attitudes of the time. The items are part of the historical record, and do not represent the views of the library or the institution.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Down below,
Down below,
Sat the Devil talking to his son,
Who wanted to go
Up above,
Up above,
He cried “It’s getting too warm from me down here and so,
I’m going up on Earth where I can have a little fun,”
The Devil simply shook his head and answered his son.

[Chorus]
Stay down here where you belong,
The folks who live above you don’t know right from wrong,
To please their kings they’ve all gone out to war,
And not a one of them knows what he’s fighting for;
‘Way up above they say that I’m the Devil, and I’m bad,
Kings up there are bigger Devils than your dad,
They’re breaking the hearts of mothers,
Making butchers out of brothers,
You’ll find more hell up there, than there is down below.

[Verse 2]
Kings up there,
They don’t care,
For the mothers who must stay at home,
Their sorrows to bear,
Stay at home,
Don’t you roam,
Although it’s warm down below, you’ll find it’s warmer up there
If e’er you went up there, my son, I know you’d be surprised,
You’d find a lot of people who are not civilized

[Chorus]

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