Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three and, in 1934, found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Her box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence, and she left the film industry in her teens. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid-to-late teens, and retired completely from films in 1950 at the age of 22. She was the top box-office draw four years in a row (1935–38) in a Motion Picture Herald poll.
Temple returned to show business in 1958 with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations. She made guest appearances on television shows in the early 1960s and filmed a sitcom pilot that was never released. She sat on the boards of corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation. In 1988, she published her autobiography, Child Star. Temple was the recipient of awards and honors including Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Temple ranks 18th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female American screen legends of all time.
Temple began dance classes at Meglin's Dance School in Hollywood in 1931, at the age of 3. Her film career began when a casting director from Educational Pictures visited her class. Although Temple hid behind the piano in the studio, she was chosen by the director, invited to audition, and, eventually, signed to a contract with Educational.
Temple worked at Educational from 1932 to 1933, and appeared in two series of short subjects for the studio. Her first series, Baby Burlesks, satirized recent motion pictures and politics. In the series "Baby Burlesks", Shirley would dress up in a diaper, but then be wearing adult clothes everywhere else. The series was considered controversial by some viewers because of its depiction of young children in adult situations. Her second series at Educational, Frolics of Youth, was a bit more acceptable, and cast her as a bratty younger sister in a contemporary suburban family.
While working for Educational Pictures, Temple also performed many walk-on and bit player roles in various films at other studios. She is said to have auditioned for a lead role in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies (later known as The Little Rascals) in the early 1930s; various reasons are given for her not having been cast in the role. Roach stated that Temple and her mother were unable to make it through the red tape of the audition process, while Our Gang producer/director Robert F. McGowan recalls that the studio wanted to cast Temple, but they refused to give in to Temple's mother's demands that Temple receive special star billing. Temple, in her autobiography Child Star, denies that she ever auditioned for Our Gang at all. However, Temple had some connection with Our Gang in that Temple's carpool friend, David Holt, had a small role in the 1933 Little Rascals film Forgotten Babies.
Temple was finally signed to Fox Film Corporation (which later merged with 20th Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox) in late 1933 after appearing in Stand Up and Cheer! with James Dunn. Later, she was paired with Dunn in several films.
Temple would stay with Fox until 1940, becoming the studio's most lucrative player. Her contract was amended several times between 1933 and 1935, and she was loaned to Paramount for a pair of successful films in 1934. For four solid years, she ranked as the top-grossing box office star in America. Shirley's birth certificate was altered to hold on to her babyhood; her birth year was advanced from 1928 to 1929. She was not told her real age until her twelfth (actually thirteenth) birthday.
Her popularity earned her both public adulation and the approval of her peers. Even at the age of five, the hallmark of her acting work was her professionalism: she always had her lines memorized and dance steps prepared when shooting began.
Temple also made pictures with Carole Lombard, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou, and many others. Arthur Treacher appeared as a kindly butler in several of Temple's films.
Temple's ability as a dancer (especially a tap dancer) is well known and celebrated. Even in her earliest films she danced, and she was able to handle complex tap choreography by the age of five. She was teamed with famed dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Just Around the Corner. Robinson also coached and developed her choreography for many of her other films. Because Robinson was African-American, and the South was replete with racism, his scenes holding hands with Temple had to be edited out in many cities in the South.
Aside from the films, there were many Shirley Temple product during the 1930s. Ideal's numerous Temple dolls, dressed in costumes from the movies, were top sellers. Original Shirley Temple dolls bring in hundreds of dollars on the secondary market today. Other successful Temple items included a line of girls' dresses and hairbows. Several of Temple's film songs, including "On the Good Ship Lollipop"(from 1934's Bright Eyes), "Animal Crackers in My Soup" (from 1935's Curly Top) and "Goodnight My Love" (from 1936's Stowaway) were popular radio hits. She frequently lent her likeness and talent to promoting various social causes, including the Red Cross.
Temple was the first recipient of the special Juvenile Performer Academy Award in 1935 for recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment in 1934. Seventy years later, Temple is still the youngest performer ever to receive this honor, or any Oscar. She is also the youngest actress to add foot and hand prints to the forecourt at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Old Straw Hat
Shirley Temple Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I'm livin' in a big town
They gave me a top hat and cane
In trade for a shady lane
Well, I'll give you back your big town
If you'll give me back a small town
Keep your top hats and canes
Give me those prairies and plains
If I had one wish to make
This is the wish I would choose
I'd want an old straw hat
A suit of overalls
And a worn out pair of shoes
Just let me roam around
Laughing at big city blues
With an old straw hat
A suit of overalls
And a worn out pair of shoes
Howdy Mister Brown
Ho hum
Goin' fishin'
Hope you get a bite
Howdy Mister Jones
Ho hum
How's about a hay ride
Saturday night?
Sing: "Heigh ho,
The merrio"
What have you got
What have you got to lose?
Get an old straw hat
A suit of overalls
And a worn out, musty
Rusty, dusty
Pair of shoes
The song “An Old Straw Hat” by Shirley Temple is a nostalgic tribute to the simplicity and joy of rural life. The lyrics reflect on the contrasts between small and big towns, and the singer expresses a longing for the former. The line “They gave me a top hat and cane in trade for a shady lane” implies that the singer left their small town for the glitz and glamour of the big city - but it’s left them feeling unfulfilled. They yearn to return to the “prairies and plains” and escape the “big city blues.” The singer even admits that they’d give up their fancy top hat and cane for their old small town.
The most poignant part of the song is when the singer reflects on what they’d do if they had just one wish. It’s not for wealth or success - it’s for an old straw hat, a suit of overalls, and a worn-out pair of shoes. They want to trade in the city lights for a simple, rustic existence where they can laugh at their sorrows and spend their days fishing or going on hayrides. The final lines of the song encourage listeners to do the same - to embrace the rustic charm of life and “get an old straw hat, a suit of overalls, and a worn-out pair of shoes.”
Line by Line Meaning
I was born in a small town
Although I am currently living in a big town, I was born and raised in a small town.
But I'm livin' in a big town
Currently, I am residing in a large urban area.
They gave me a top hat and cane
In exchange for living in the big town, I received a metaphorical 'top hat and cane,' or a symbol of wealth and status.
In trade for a shady lane
I had to give up the quaint, peaceful environment of living in a small town for the fast-paced, bustling atmosphere of a large city.
Well, I'll give you back your big town
I would trade living in a big town for a simpler life if given the chance.
If you'll give me back a small town
I would like to return to the small town I grew up in, with its close-knit community and slower pace of life.
Keep your top hats and canes
I have no interest in city glamour and would rather reconnect with my small-town roots.
Give me those prairies and plains
I yearn for the natural beauty and open spaces of the countryside.
If I had one wish to make
If given the chance to have anything in the world, I would choose this one desire.
This is the wish I would choose
Out of all the possibilities, my one wish would be this specific desire.
I'd want an old straw hat
One of my simple wishes is to own a nostalgic, old hat made of straw.
A suit of overalls
I also want to have a pair of reliable overalls, a practical and comfortable piece of clothing.
And a worn out pair of shoes
Lastly, my wish includes owning a pair of shoes that are comfortable but have been worn down over time.
Just let me roam around
I want to travel freely and move without any constraints or pressures.
Laughing at big city blues
As I travel, I will chuckle at the fast-paced, busy lifestyle of big city people.
Howdy Mister Brown
I am greeting a friendly fellow named Mister Brown.
Ho hum
An expression of being a bit bored or uninterested in the moment.
Goin' fishin'
I am planning on fishing, a simple and peaceful leisure activity.
Hope you get a bite
I wish my fishing partner, Mister Brown, good luck in catching fish.
Howdy Mister Jones
Similarly, I am greeting another friendly fellow named Mister Jones.
How's about a hay ride
I am suggesting an enjoyable hay ride, another classic rural activity.
Saturday night?
I am suggesting that this outing occur on a specific date, a Saturday night.
Sing: 'Heigh ho,
I am inviting my companions to sing along with me.
The merrio'
This nonsensical phrase is part of the song's lyrics, and I am continuing to sing it or inviting my companions to do so.
What have you got
I am curious to know what my companions have in their possession or their lives in general.
What have you got to lose?
I am encouraging my companions to let go of their worries and take chances without fear of failing or losing anything.
Get an old straw hat
I reiterate my desire to have my own nostalgic straw hat.
A suit of overalls
I mention once more that I want a practical and comfortable pair of overalls.
And a worn out, musty
In addition to comfortable clothing, I also want it to have been around for a long time and to have a charm to it.
Rusty, dusty
I describe my desired belongings as being old, somewhat worn down, and covered in dirt or other imperfections.
Pair of shoes
Lastly, I reiterate my wish to have a reliable but well-worn pair of shoes.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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What is all this dizzy busy hustling for
People running helter-skelter on their way
What is all this hazy crazy bustling for
No time to notice it's a sunny day
Why don't you take a vacation
Looks like you've got to have relaxation
Aw, come on, forget your troubles for a while
Why don't you try to feel like I do?
If I had one wish to make
This is the wish I would choose
I'd want an old straw hat
A suit of overalls
And a worn out pair of shoes
Just let me roam around
Laughing at big city blues
With an old straw hat
A suit of overalls
And a worn out pair of shoes
Howdy Mister Brown!
Ho-hum!
Goin' fishin'? Hope you get a bite!
Howdy Mister Jones!
Ho-hum!
How's about a hay ride Saturday night?
Sing hi-ho the merri-o!
What've you got, what've you got to lose
Get an old straw hat
A suit of overalls
And a worn out pair of shoes
@angelapannell5489
I love you and your little songs they are so 🥺🤣😃😃😃😃😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰
@theo3s611
Shirley Temple the Princess of all the 1930s Movies
@meganmiller3540
My god, she’s only 10 here! You don’t see kids these days with talent like this!
@mrgivins9690
You should see her at 6!😊
@miguelespinosa519
When I heard about this movie (I fell in love with this song) This has to be one of my favorite songs of all time, it’s disappointing that there aren’t videos of people singing this or instrumentals so that I would be able to sing this, (after a few times of hearing this song, I think I’ve finally know the lyrics and maybe another time I could do a video of Old straw Hat and Come and get your happiness, I have it all planned out. This song is sure an American Classic I would keep in my mind for the rest of my life and maybe I could sing it to my kids someday (now that’s a nice thought 😊)
@MorganSolana
You can watch the full movie on YouTube
@linalooney1446
Don't ever guve up on your dreams!
@simoneboogle1643
She was adorable 😘
@antheadebeljak6112
Shirley Temple was very talented she was born for dancing and singing and very good songs❤️🌍 Her songs and movies will stay forever😁😁😁
@pamelaleonard6897
I just love Shirley ' s music!!!! It really makes me happy. Thank you for sharing :)