Why do some people mock-weep at some slow violin music . . . other than slow music on other instruments? How far back does that go? I heard it as a kid back in the '50s (I’m thinking of Jack Benny), but it probably goes back further than that.
I don’t know, I’m somewhat opposite. Every time I hear short, fast regular high-pitched notes on a violin I go upstairs and stab whoever I find in the shower. Mrs. Devil installed one of those glass sliding shower doors so it’s not the same.
This post suggests the song posted by Eve is more or less the origin. Silent films would use a violin playing Hearts and Flowers during the sad bits. Hence, “breaking out the violins” or “the worlds smallest violin” were sarcastic ways of mocking someones melodramatic sorrow.