This week we're traveling back to 1940s New York with Blue Moon! Join us as we learn about the relationship between Rogers and Hart, air raid blackouts, EB White, going on the wagon, and more!
Sources:
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%22off+the+wagon%22&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%22on+the+wagon%22&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3
Jellinek, Elvin Morton. Phases in the Drinking History of Alcoholics: Analysis of a Survey Conducted by the Grapevine, Official Organ of Alcoholics Anonymous. United States: Hillhouse Press, 1946.
Coffey, Edward Hope. Manhattan Cocktail. United States: L. MacVeagh, The Dial Press, 1929.
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/37132/origin-of-the-idiom-falling-off-the-wagon
Richard Goldstein, City Room Answers: https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/answers-about-world-war-ii-in-new-york-part-iii/
Siobhan McGirl, "Surprise Blackouts Sweep the East Coast," World War 2.0, available at https://blogs.shu.edu/ww2-0/1942/08/21/surprise-blackouts-sweep-the-east-coast/
"New Raid Signal Blacks Out City," New York Times, February 19 1943. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/1943/02/19/archives/new-raid-signal-blacks-out-city-public-response-encouraging-mayor.html?smid=url-share
https://time.com/7325788/blue-moon-true-story-lorenz-hart/
Robert Gottlieb, "Rodgers and Hart's Dysfunctional Partnership," The Atlantic April 2013. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/words-and-music/309249/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1947/11/01/no-matter-what-the-skirt-length-is-every-prospect-pleases-me-because-i-am-vile
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1943/03/20/i-accept-with-widespread-pleasure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Moon_(2025_film)
Brian Tallerico review, RogerEbert.com: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/blue-moon-tiff-ethan-hawke-margaret-qualley-film-review-2025
Parade magazine video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/T7NGAvrCXkQ
