Old age in America represented in nineteenth and twentieth century popular sheet music.
This paper examines American popular sheet music published between 1830 and 1980 as a source for understanding popular perceptions and feelings about aging and old age. From a private collection of over 300 pieces of sheet music related to aging, two forms of representation of popular sentiments are reviewed: cover art and lyrics. A substantial majority present negative rather than positive views of aging and old age.
Cohen
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Community Services Institute, Inc., Narberth, PA 19072.
Kruschwitz
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D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009146:Music / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States