"Wop" in 1908?

[Jonathan Lighter]

James Brockman's novelty song, "Wop, Wop, Wop!" (N.Y.: Witmark, 1908 [but
actually copyright Feb. 3, 1909]) may have helped popularize the word.

Acc. to the N.Y. _Eve. Telegram_ (July 29, 1909)  (findable here if you've
got lots of time:
http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html<http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html>
),
it was "one of the quaintest Italian novelty songs of the many that have
been offered to the public the last two or three years. It is by no less a
person than Mr. James Brockman [1886-1967: ed.], the well known writer and
composer.

"The story, told in a serio-comic way, tells of the troubles of an Italian,
whose feelings are injured by the various nicknames given him in this
country, and deals with his efforts in trying to prevent being called first
'Dago,' then 'Guinie,' and last of all, 'Wop.'

"Mr. Brockman has set the words to a tuneful and pleasing little melody that
makes it a particularly bright song for a part of the social programme."

 Check out the lyrics. They imply that "wop" was something new:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100004968/pageturner.html?page=2&section=&size=640

JL

On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 3:42 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: "Wop" in 1908?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 4/29/2010 03:28 PM, Garson O'Toole wrote:
> >Joel S. Berson wrote
> > > Subject:      Re: "Wop" in 1908?
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > At 4/28/2010 09:20 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > >>Good one.
> > >>
> > >>Cleveland *and* N.Y. within a few months?
> > >>
> > >>Interesting.
> > >
> > > I wonder -- Where was the marathon conducted?  Is the Cleveland
> > > article a reprint from somewhere else, e.g. New York?
> > >
> > > Perhaps this is less significant since earlier dates -- 1906 instead
> > > of 1908 -- have been discovered.
> > >
> > > Joel
> >
> >The 1908 article says at the beginning "BY PLAIN DEALER'S LEASED
> >WIRE". The dateline is "NEW YORK, Dec. 15"
> >
> >Here is an excerpt giving the setting:
> >
> >... The scene that followed Dorando's other dramatic failure in the
> >London stadium was as nothing to that which was witnessed in Madison
> >Square garden tonight when the little Italian toppled over at the
> >27th-st turn ...
> >
> >Sorry I did not give more extensive excerpts to show the original
> >setting. This 1908 article perhaps shows the dissemination of the
> >term.
>
> So the marathon and news item *did* come from New York.  My
> conclusion is somewhat the opposite:  It suggests that the term may
> still have been local to New York in 1908 -- but of course only
> because it is not solid evidence that the term was in use in Cleveland.
>
> Joel
>
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