Life — August 25, 1927 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Cover Analysis - August 25, 1927 This cover depicts a beach scene with two women in 1920s bathing attire and a child. The title "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prai-ree" (a parody of the cowboy song "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie") suggests commentary on changing American lifestyles. The satire likely critiques the shift from rural/frontier culture to modern leisure culture—specifically beach vacations becoming fashionable among urban Americans in the Jazz Age. The women's confident poses and contemporary swimwear represent the "New Woman" of the 1920s, enjoying freedom and public recreation previously unavailable. The reference to being buried on the prairie humorously implies the old frontier way of life is "dead," replaced by seaside leisure and modern sensibilities. An "Alibi Contest" is advertised on the cover.