When Lyrics Were Poetry Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tea for Two (1925)

With music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar, this song was written for the Broadway musical "No, No, Nanette," in which it is sung by a young couple imagining their future together. Long a popular standard, it has been recorded scores of times by various artists as diverse as Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Lawrence Welk, Smokey Robinson, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Answer: Strange Fruit (1937)

Written originally by teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem protesting lynching in the American South, this stunning song was most famously and unforgettably recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, although it has since been covered by other artists. It has been called "a historical document" and "the beginning of the civil rights movement;" and has been memorialized by inclusion in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the list of "Songs of the Century." Strong stuff.

Answer: Any Bonds Today? (1941)

This may be the only memorable song ever written at the request of a Secretary of the Treasury. Reworked by Irving Berlin from a song of his originally entitled "Any Yams Today?", it was put together in answer to a request by US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau for a song to accompany an animated short film starring Bugs Bunny promoting the selling of government bonds to support the World War II effort.

The film was shown as a trailer in movie theaters throughout the US during the war, in which at least 85 million people purchased bonds totaling over $185 billion.

Answer: Strawberry Fields Forever (1966)

You just KNEW a Beatles song had to be on this list, and this one is here not least because no less a person than John Lennon considered it his most significant work. Written by him, and also credited to Paul McCartney, the song refers to a children's home in Liverpool where Lennon used to play as a child. Full of psychedelic, even surrealistic, overtones, the song was one of the harbingers of the psychedelic pop movement.

It simultaneously celebrates the innocence of childhood, the search for meaning, and the desire to escape to another level of awareness.

It has been hailed as one of the Beatles' greatest songs and by many critics as one of the best rock songs of all time.

Answer: All the Way (1957)

With music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn, themselves one of the most successful songwriting teams in American history, this song was composed for the Frank Sinatra film "The Joker is Wild," for which it won the Best Song Oscar. The Sinatra recording is the most famous one for this song, reaching into the top five in the "Billboard" charts in both the US and the UK.

The song is a simple and sweeping testament to the power of true love. It has been covered many times, by the likes of Celine Dion, Glen Campbell, Bob Dylan, and Billie Holiday (in 1959; one of her last recordings).

Answer: Cheek to Cheek (1935)

Irving Berlin wrote this song for the Astaire-Rogers film, "Top Hat," for which it was nominated for the Best Song Oscar. Fred Astaire's recording of the song is by far the most enduringly famous, having hit number one on the popular charts of the day and having been placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

But almost eighty years later (2014), Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett made "Cheek to Cheek" the centerpiece of an album of the same name, comprised of iconic jazz hits.

Answer: My Generation (1965)

Perhaps the greatest song ever to have been inspired by a tow truck, this song is reputed to have been written by The Who's Pete Townshend in response to having his hearse towed from a public street in London at the request of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Hailed as an anthem to the youth movement and to the never-ending quest by the young to find their place in life, the song was The Who's highest-placing single on the UK charts.

As a historical document it has been hailed by "Rolling Stone" as the 11th greatest song of all time and has been placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame and honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll."

Answer: People Will Say We're In Love (1943)

Written with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for their Broadway musical "Oklahoma!", this song is an ironic dialogue by a young couple who pretend not to acknowledge what they each know to be true: that they are indeed falling in love.

This song has been recorded by the likes of Jack Jones, Spike Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Robert Palmer, and Cannonball Adderley. Rodgers and Hammerstein were one of the great songwriting teams of the twentieth century; and this song is on this quiz in part as an homage to that fact and to their great talent.

Answer: The Times They Are A-Changin' (1963)

Called the "archetypal protest song," this ballad was written by Bob Dylan in a deliberate attempt to create a call for change and to provide a bridge between youthful rebellion and the Civil Rights Movement. Dylan has admitted to drawing on Scottish and Irish folk ballads for inspiration; and the song harkens to biblical themes as well - as many of Dylan's songs from the 1960s do.

The song has been recorded over 400 times by artists from every imaginable genre including jazz, hip-hop, and opera.

Answer: I've Got You Under My Skin (1936)

One of the greatest love songs ever written. Period. Composed by Cole Porter in 1936 for an MGM musical film, it was nominated for a Best Song Oscar that year. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists in many genres. In 1966 it was a top ten hit for the Four Seasons; and was the basis for a song by hip-hop artist Neneh Cherry on an AIDS charity album in 1990.

But no rendition comes close to the ones recorded over the years by Frank Sinatra, beginning in 1956. Arranged by Nelson Riddle for his orchestra, this version of the song simultaneously portrays both the ecstasies and the frustrations of being in love.