Brother, can you spare six dimes?

I noticed we don't have any songs for this new Great Depression of ours. No "We're In The Money" for optimism or "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" to make us aware of the plight of those who are struggling in hard times.

We're just too jaded by our distractions, two wars, high def TV, our iPods and our Blackberries to really get into a Depression mood. That's why I, out of the goodness of my heart and my sense of history, have reached back through the ages to bring you not one, but six versions of "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime" by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and music by Jay Gorney.

I've alternated the old, nearly 80-year-old versions with the newer renditions, ending up with a David Letterman stint by Mandy Patinkin where it's played for laughs. Hey, in good times we could make a joke of the Depression.