Judge, 1923-06-02 · page 18 of 36
Judge — June 2, 1923 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous parody of romantic love songs, recast as a "primitive" courtship between cavemen and cavewomen. The satire mocks the overwrought sentimentality of contemporary popular love ballads by literalizing them in a prehistoric setting. The joke operates on several levels: romantic clichés ("dark eyes," "sharp nails," "caresses") become violent and crude when attributed to stone-age figures. Lines like "I'll knock out a few of your teeth" and "trade me a kick for a punch in the nose" absurdly substitute brutality for tenderness. The woman's "maidenly shyness" becoming "monotonous" suggests tedium with affected feminine modesty. By setting this in the Neolithic period, the cartoon implies that such saccharine love songs are primitive and unsophisticated—that modern audiences are being entertained by essentially caveman-level sentimentality. The illustrations of crude, violent "lovers" reinforce this mockery of popular romantic culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Neolithic Love Song—” Words and Lyrics by Eddie Ford “Photo” played by Adolph Goodwin V Janse i r fire, love, Id not have you, Snug is our cavern home; So coy or so reticent; Hark to the t é Maidenly shyness Roars on the h. 7 Monotonous Cave-keeping h are aw (avn Let Ever the happiest— Sweetest of bartering; Come, sweet, I'll knock out Trade me a kick for a punch A few ¢ In the nose. Love will not always be with us, I ween. Fast fall the years like 's in the autumn time; Love will not always be With us, I weer Here are the rocks I have Gathered so tenderly; Seon they will bounce from Trade me a kick for a punch Your beautiful bean. in the nose. Come, sweet, I'll knock out a few of your teeth. Dark are your eye . from th Dark as the Leo ne terrible imi Sharp are your nails a Close in my arms shall The claws of the bear. ‘ou ever lie curled. See how abjectly I beg : . For caresses, love; a 4 y et Pull out a handful Will I reciprocate?— Or two of my hair! “. / I'll tell the world’ Maidenly shyness monotonous grows. See how abjectly I beg for Safe from the jaws of the ter- caresses, love. rible mastodon.