Anything Goes

"Anything Goes" is a song written by Cole Porter for his 1934 musical of the same name. Many of the lyrics include humorous references to figures of scandal and gossip from Depression-era high society. A recording by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (vocal by Ramona Davies) was very popular in 1934. People and items referenced in the song The song opens with a reference to the Massachusetts Bay Colony "Times have changed, And we've often rewound the clockSince the Puritans got a shock, When they landed on Plymouth RockIf today, any shock they should try to stem, 'Stead of landing on Plymouth RockPlymouth Rock would land on them". The opening stanza is believed to have influenced the orations of Malcolm X, who in 1964 said "Our forefathers were not the Pilgrims, we didn't land on Plymouth Rock, the rock was landed on us. The song mentions Mae West, Hollywood sex symbol, and Missus Ned McLean (Evalyn Walsh McLean), who had traveled to Soviet Union early after the Russian Revolution in an attempt to have a Tsarist relative reappointed Ambassador to the United States. Also mentioned are industrialist John D. Rockefeller, producer Max Gordon, the Vanderbilts, the Whitneys, and prominent tastemaker Lady Mendl.