Thanks For The Memory

Thanks for the memory
Of candlelight and wine, castles on the Rhine
The Parthenon and moments on the Hudson River Line
How lovely it was!

Thanks for the memory
Of rainy afternoons, swingy Harlem tunes
And motor trips and burning lips and burning toast and prunes
How lovely it was!
Many's the time that we feasted
And many's the time that we fasted
Oh, well, it was swell while it lasted
We did have fun and no harm done

And thanks for the memory
Of sunburns at the shore, nights in Singapore
You might have been a headache but you never were a bore
So thank you so much.
Thanks for the memory
Of sentimental verse, nothing in my purse
And chuckles when the preacher said "For better or for worse"
How lovely it was
Thanks for the memory
Of lingerie with lace, Pilsner by the case
And how I jumped the day you trumped my one-and-only ace
How lovely it was!

We said goodbye with a highball
Then I got as "high" as a steeple
But we were intelligent people
No tears, no fuss, Hooray! For us

So, thanks for the memory
And strictly entre-nous, darling how are you?
And how are all the little dreams that never did come true?
Aw'flly glad I met you, cheerio, and toodle-oo
And thank you so much

As the song playing at the hamburger stands in chapter 15, this song exemplifies the dichotomy between the commercialized expectations of music in the 1930's. The novel itself offers a dichotomy between Bing as the idealized folk and the trucker serenading Mae as their reality where, "Bing Crosby's voice --golden. 'thanks for the memories, of sunburn at the shore--you might have been a headache, but you never were a bore--' And the truck driver sing's for Mae's ears, you might have been a haddock but you never was a whore--" (171.)
Here is a textual representation of the dichotomy between popularized music and the folk reception of it.