"Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," lyrics by Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson (1931)

People are queer, they're always crowing, scrambling and rushing about;

Why don't they stop someday, address themselves this way?

Why are we here? Where are we going? It's time that we found out.

We're not here to stay; we're on a short holiday.

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.

You work, you save, you worry so,

But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.

So keep repeating it's the berries,

The strongest oak must fall,

The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned

So how can you lose what you've never owned?

Life is just a bowl of cherries,

So live and laugh at it all.

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.

At eight each morning I have got a date,

To take my plunge 'round the Empire State.

You'll admit it's not the berries,

In a building that's so tall;

There's a guy in the show, the girls love to kiss;

Get thousands a week just for crooning like this:

Life is just a bowl of . . . aw, nuts!

So live and laugh at it all!

http://csivc.csi.cuny.edu/history/files/lavender/cherries.html

I think this song tells a story about people who got too caught up in money/ material things they forgot the true meaning of life. In this song he is saying we are not going meant to live forever so why waste it being so serious and worrying all the time "Life is just a bowl of cherries. Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious. You work, you save, you worry so,", and then I like the next line when he says, "But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go." basically implying that money isn't everything and once you die you can't take your money with you, so why should money mean so mucho us? The line that stood out to me the most was "The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned, So how can you lose what you've never owned?" I thought of it sort of as a reality check like you shouldn't be sad or mad about losing something that wasn't really yours in the first place. I think some themes this poem might address are money isn't everything, live your life more and worry less, and don't be so serious all the time. I do know that this song was made during the Great Depression and I believe he made this song to uplift the peoples spirit after they lost their money and fancy things. This poem made me feel a certain type of way because sometimes I do feel myself caring way too much about money and material things as do most of us. I feel like most people these days stress and worry so much about not having enough money for things we don't really need but want because other people have it. We all just want nice things that we forget the true meaning of life.