Friday, August 30, 2013

Peel Me a Grape

Having tracked down the grapes of wrath yesterday, I got wondering about the source of peel me a grape.

First recorded instance:
Mae West says,
"Beulah, peel me a grape" in her 1933 film I'm no Angel ("the one with Cary Grant").

Not from the grape movie, but I love West's dress here, in Belle of the Nineties (1934):
 Costume by Travis Banton. 

And here's Dusty Springfield singing "Peel Me a Grape" on her TV show It Must Be Dusty, August 29, 1967  



Song by Dave Frishberg, 1962. 
Frishberg was born in Saint Paul, MN, in 1933, according to an interview in the Mississippi Rag.

1 comment:

bink said...

I often used to peel grapes as a child... I thought of it was a decadent Roman thing to do... like Nero would eat peeled grapes.