LOL! First heard this song when I was 11 yrs. old and over 50 years later, I STILL say platypus duck rather than duckbill platypus. Weird the things that can stick in one’s brain. :-)
This song had been written for Yip Yip Yaphank in 1918 but had been dropped from the show and into Irvings desk drawer. In 1938 Irving sensed that the German question might once again be litigated in the court of arms, so he pulled the song out of his drawer and began tinkering with the lyrics. Kate Smith, whose radio show had been running for seven years on CBS under the title The Songbird of the South, was looking for something new and patriotic, and she approached Irving. What timing! He had it ready for her in a jiffy, and it became Americas second national anthem after September 11, 2001.
But there was controversy from the Left. Woody Guthrie thought the song unrealistic and complacent, writing This Land is Your Land as his answer.
This was to become Kates signature song, and it was played in lieu of The Star Spangled Banner at Philadelphia Flyers hockey games because it brought the team good luck. Kate even sang it live during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Irving chose not to accept a penny of royalties from it. He licensed the song to the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Campfire Girls, and it was they who profited from it. His other patriotic songs of the era were licensed to the Navy Relief, Red Cross, March of Dimes and various war bond drives.
This is the songs premiere, taken from a radio broadcast on November 10, 1938, done for the twentieth anniversary of the end of World War I. Note that she sings the intro, which has been adjusted for the time. Also note that this is not a march; the time signature is 2/2. What is amazing is that she hits the high D at the end without effort!
This clip is from 1943's This is the Army. This is Max Steiners orchestration, done for Warner Brothers. Take a look at who is reading Variety near the end.