"A Boychik Up-To-Date"

"A Boychik Up-To-Date"

Jewish Immigration in America

When I came across this particular booklet of sheet music for the common day "boychik," I thought that this was the perfect example of Eastern Jewish immigrants attempting to merge into American culture. The cover depicts a Jewish boy that is so Americanized that his apparent culture has gone unnoticed. The boy is described as "a modern fellow, a wise boy, a bluffer. Girls, don't be deceived by him; take care, and beware." The booklet goes on to signify what immigrants may have aspired to be, which was to not be seen as every run-of-the-mill immigrant. In this time period of 1904, these people wished to be seen with class and has made a success of their self in America. The booklet's songs are primarily written in Yiddish and go on take critical observance of the boy as the American lifestyle has altered who he used to be. I felt that there was a strong historical significance towards immigration of Eastern European Jews in America as compared the works of Abraham Cahan's "Yekl" that we had read earlier this semester.

David Meyrowitz and Louis Gilrod

David Meyrowitz (1867-1943) and Louis Gilrod (1879-1930) A Boychik Up-to-Date [An Up-to-Date Dandy]. New York: Theodore Lohr, n.d. Sheet music cover Hebraic Section, Library of Congress (78)
Heskes, Irene, Yiddish American Popular Songs, 1895-1950 (General)

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/haven-century.html#obj16

Library of Congress/Theodore Lohr Co., New York.

1904

Evan Orfanos