Judge, 1928-08-11 · page 19 of 36
Judge — August 11, 1928 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a sentimental ballad titled "You Told Me," set to music with a piano refrain. The song depicts a child (or young person) reproaching an adult—likely a parent or authority figure—who has systematically debunked childhood beliefs and myths: Santa Claus, storks delivering babies, four-leaf clovers, rainbows, and family traditions. The ballad's emotional appeal lies in its critique of excessive cynicism or harsh realism imposed on youth. The final line—"Ain't a-ny-thing sa-cred to you?"—captures the central complaint: the adult has destroyed innocent wonder without replacing it with anything meaningful. The accompanying illustration by S. J. Perelman (credited as "Lantern Slides") shows a cherub with a trumpet and a couple gazing upward at the stork delivering a baby—visual representations of the exact myths being mocked in the song. The satire targets those who aggressively strip away childhood innocence, questioning whether such disillusionment serves any constructive purpose.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TOLD ME = eee * “You told me storks did-rit bring ba-bies— You said San-ty ai _ SSS Claus was a. lie; And as for the gold eer rain-bows end, You de-clare there is more in your eye;— I _ ® —— ee ee eee . thought four-leaf clo-vers were luck-y,—— You told me thot === that was un- true, You laughed at the tin - type of = a ee ee Ee my dear old mo-ther!— Aint —a-ny-thing sa-cred to you?” Lantern Slides by S. J. Perelman comicbooks.com