“Why Waste Your Tears?” Words and Music by Valerie “Val” Holstius (arranged by Lynn Vaughan). Recorded by the Durium Dance Band with vocalist Elsie Carlisle in London, September or October 1932. Durium EN-34.

Personnel: Peter Rush-cl-as dir. Max Goldberg-t / Charlie Price or Jack Warne-t / Tony Thorpe-tb / Bill Rogers-as / Alf Zafer-ts / Ernest Wilson-p / Bill Tringham-g / Dave Axford-bb / Maurice Zafer-d-x

The Durium Dance Band (v. Elsie Carlisle) – “Why Waste Your Tears” (1932)

Durium records were made of cardboard coated on one side with durium acetate resin. These inexpensive vehicles for frequently excellent recordings sold at newsstands between 1930-1933 and usually had two recordings on their one playable side.  On this disc, Elsie Carlisle’s “Why Waste Your Tears?” is paired with Sam Browne’s “The Night Shall Be Filled with Music,” and the list of personnel includes such well-known Ambrose men as Max Goldberg and Tony Thorpe.

Songwriter Valerie “Val” Holstius was the wife of writer Edward Nils Holstius. “Why Waste Your Tears?” appears to be her sole composition, but it is a good one. It takes the form of a response to, or even of a negation of, a torch song. It advises its addressee not to waste his or her tears on a lost love, but rather to move on. The arrangement used by the Durium studio band is decidedly upbeat, and Elsie uses her allotted 48 seconds of singing to deliver the song’s argument in a form that is light, bright, and memorable.

“Why Waste Your Tears?” has lyrics that can be altered to suit a male or female singer, and in addition to Elsie Carlisle’s recording with the Durium Dance Band there were versions by Nat Star (Tom Barratt, vocalist), Terry Mack and His Boys (with vocalist Jack Plant), and Lew Stone and the Monseigneur Band (with Al Bowlly).