Was it a sign? Harmonic convergence? Coincidence? Providence? While dressing for church yesterday, I was listening to the local Hillsdale radio station which has a segment of religious broadcasting before devoting several hours to big band hits. Why station managers deem Frank Sinatra and 1940s music as appropriate formats for the Lord’s Day is as mysterious as my needing background sounds on the Sabbath. (My explanation is that I am a product of Jay and Ellen Hart who always had the radio on. Their station of choice was Family Radio. I can only listen to it through streaming audio. The transistor radio in the bathroom only receives the Hillsdale station.)
Anyhow, the song that played yesterday, the day before we leave for Turkey, was “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” It is a 1953 swing-style song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. The lyrics comically refer to the official 1930 renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul. The song was originally recorded by the Canadian group The Four Lads on August 12, 1953. This recording was released by Columbia Records and reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 24, 1953, and it peaked at #10. It was the group’s first gold record. Another tidbit from Wikipedia: The Duke’s Men of Yale, an all-male a cappella group at Yale University, perform the song at the end of most of their concerts. The song has been in the repertoire of the Duke’s Men since 1953.
Here are the lyrics.
Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it’s Turkish delight on a moonlit night
(Oh) every gal in Constantinople
(Oh) lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
(Oh) so if you’ve a date in Constantinople
(Oh) she’ll be waiting in IstanbulEven old New York
Was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can’t say
People just liked it better that waySo take me back to Constantinople
No, you can’t go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo / ohhhhhhh ohh ohh ohh
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo / ohhhhhh ohh ohh ohh
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo / ohhhh ohh ohh ohh ohhh
Istanbul (Istanbul)
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo / ohhhhhhh ohh ohh ohh
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo / ohhhhhhh ohh ohh ohh
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo / ohhhh ohh ohh ohh ohhh
Istanbul (Istanbul)Even old New York
Was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can’t say
People just liked it better that wayIstanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo dooSo take me back to Constantinople
No, you can’t go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’Istanbul
You can listen here.
In further preparation for travel to Istanbul (not Constinople) we watched The Edge of Heaven last night after the evening service. It is a very good movie about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the relationships between the Turks and Germans. Lots of Istanbul (and Bremen and Hamburg).
Old Life 