No. 38 - In Heaven, There is no Beer
If you believe, as some do, that drinking alcohol is a sin, then it makes logical sense that beyond the pearly gates, there will be no alcohol. And yet, for many of us on a Fall Saturday afternoon, there are few things better than watching our school play football and drinking a beer. We count on (believe? hope? pray?) that the mere trasgression of that beer will not prevent us from reaching heaven. For that reason, we enjoy the sweet taste of a beer now, while we can.
Frankly, this idea is not new. Robert Herrick wrote about this same idea centuries ago. But in the twentieth century, these existential thoughts were put into musical verse with a rollicking polka beat. The lyrics of the first verse give a simple explanation for why we drink our beer now. We know that the day will come when we cannot.
In Heaven there is no beer(No beer?!)That's why we drink it hereAnd when we're all gone from hereOur friends will be drinking all the beer.
Some years ago, the Iowa Hawkeyes' Marching Band realized that this philisophical cry for the enjoyment of life was the perfect crescendo for the conclusion of an athletic victory. The director changed the song's title to the Iowa Victory Polka, but the heartfelt belief remains the same. And now, after every Iowa win, you will hear the marching band play the this joyful polka.