The World is Alive with the Sound of Music
“Where have all the 'writers' gone ... long time passing,
Where have all the 'writers' gone ... long time ago."
(paraphrasing ... Peter, Paul, and Mary)
Songs "O" Through "S"
OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNIN'
(Rogers and Hammerstein) ... from the Broadway musical "Oklahoma"
(Verse)
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
The corn is as high as an elephants eye,
An' it looks like it's climbin' clear up in the sky. (Chorus)
Oh, What a beautiful mornin',
Oh, What a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'erything's goin' my way. (Verse)
All the cattle are standin' like statues,
All the cattle are standin' like statues,
They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by,
But a little brown mav'rick is winkin'her eye.
(Repeat Chorus) (Verse)
All the sounds of the earth are like music,
All the sounds of the earth are like music,
The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree,
And an ol' weepin'willer is laughin' at me!
(Repeat Chorus)
OL' MAN RIVER
(Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern) ... from the Broadway musical "Show Boat"
Here we all work 'long the Mississippi,
Here we all work while the white folk play,
Pullin' them boats from the dawn till sunset,
Gettin' no rest till the judgment day. Don't look up and don't look down,
You don't das make the boss man frown,
Bend your knees and bow your head,
And pull that rope until your dead. Let me go 'way from the Mississippi,
Let me go 'way from the white man boss,
Show me that stream called the River Jordan,
That's the old stream that I long to cross. Ol' Man River, that Ol' Man River,
He don't say nothin', but he must know somethin',
He just keeps rollin', he keeps on rollin' along. He don't plant tatters, and he don't plant cotton,
And them what plants em, are soon forgotten,
But Ol' Man River, just keeps rollin' along. You and me, we sweat and strain,
Body all achin' and racked with pain,
Tote that barge and lift that bail,
You get a little drunk and you lands in jail. I gets weary, and sick of trying,
I'm tired of livin', but I'm scared of dyin',
But Ol' Man River, he just keeps rollin' along.
ONLY YOU
Recorded by The Platters
Only you can make this world seem right,
Only you can make the darkness bright,
Only you and you alone,
Can thrill me like you do,
Only you can make this change in me,
When you hold my hand I understand,
The magic that you do,
You're my dream come true,
My one and only you.
ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE
(Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe)
from the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady"
I have often walked down this street before,
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before,
All at once am I several stories high,
Knowing I'm on the street where you live. Are there lilac trees in the heart of town,
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town,
Does enchantment pour out of every door,
No, it's just on the street where you live. And oh, the towering feeling just to know somehow you are near,
The overpowering feeling that any second you may suddenly appear. People stop and stare, they don't bother me,
For there's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be,
Let the time go by, I won't care if I,
Can be here on the street where you live.
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET
(Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh) ... theme song of band leader, Ted Lewis.
Grab your coat and get your hat,
Leave your worries on the doorstep,
Life can be so sweet,
On the sunny side of the street. Can't you hear the pitter-pat,
And that happy tune is your step,
Life can be complete,
On the sunny side of the street. I used to walk in the shade with those blues on parade,
But I'm not afraid because this rover crossed over. And if I never had a cent,
I'd be rich as Rockefeller,
With gold dust at my feet,
On the sunny side of the street.
OH YOU BEAUTIFUL DOLL
Recorded by Eddie Cantor
Oh you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll,
Let me put my arms about you,
I could never live without you. Oh you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll,
If you ever leave me how my heart would ache,
Wanna squeeze you but I fear that you would break. Oh, Oh, Oh you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll,
Let me put my arms about you,
I could never live without you. Oh you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll,
If you ever leave me how my heart would ache,
Wanna squeeze you but I fear that you would break,
Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh you beautiful doll.
PEOPLE WILL SAY WE'RE IN LOVE
(Rogers and Hammerstein) ... from the Broadway musical "Oklahoma"
Don't throw bouquets at me,
Don't please my folks too much,
Don't laugh at my jokes too much,
People will say we're in love. Don't sigh and gaze at me,
Your sighs are so like mine,
And your eyes mustn't glow like mine,
People will say we're in love. Don't start collecting things,
Give me my rose and my glove,
Sweetheart, they're suspecting things,
People will say we're in love.
PRISONER OF LOVE
(Words by Leo Robin and music by Russ Columbo & Clarence Gaskill)
recorded by Perry Como.
Alone from night to night you'll find me,
Too weak to break the chains that bind me,
I need no shackles to remind me,
I'm just a prisoner of love. For one command I stand and wait now,
From one who's master of my fate now,
I can't escape for it's too late now,
I'm just a prisoner of love. What's the good of my caring if someone is sharing those arms with me,
Although she has another, I can't have another for I'm not free. She's in my dreams awake or sleeping,
Upon my knees to her I'm creeping,
My very life is in her keeping,
I'm just a prisoner of love.
SABBATH PRAYER
(Words by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Bock)
from the Broadway musical "Fiddler on the Roof"
based on the short story "Tevye and His Daughters" by Sholom Aleichem
May the L-rd protect and defend you.
May He always shield you from shame.
May you come to be
In Israel a shining name. May you be like Ruth and like Esther.
May you be deserving of praise.
Strengthen them, Oh L-rd,
And keep them from the strangers' ways. May G-d bless you and grant you long lives.
(May the L-rd fulfill our Sabbath prayer for you.)
May G-d make you good mothers and wives.
(May He send you husbands who will care for you.) May the L-rd protect and defend you.
May the L-rd preserve you from pain.
Favor them, Oh L-rd, with happiness and peace.
Oh, hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.
SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES
(Recorded by Guy Lombardo in 1947)
Seems like old times,
Having you to walk with,
Seems like old times,
Having you to talk with,
And it's still a thrill,
Just to have my arms around you,
Still the thrill that it was the day I found you. Seems like old times,
Dinner dates and flowers,
Old times, staying up all hours,
Making dreams come true,
Doing things we used to do,
Seems like old times,
Here with You.
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
(Steven Sondheim) ... from the Broadway musical "A Little Night Music"
Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.
Send in the clowns. Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who can't move.
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns. Just when I'd stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,
Making my entrance again with my usual flair,
Sure of my lines,
No one is there. Don't you love farce?
My fault I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry, my dear.
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns.
Don't bother, they're here. Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my career?
And where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
Well, maybe next year.
SEPTEMBER SONG
(Kurt Weill) ... from the Broadway musical "Knickerbocker Holiday"
Originally recorded by Walter Huston ... in his own inimitable way.
Oh, it's a long, long while, from May to December,
But the days grow short, when you reach September,
When the autumn weather, turns the leaves to flame,
One hasn't got time, for the waiting game. Oh, the days dwindle down, to a precious few,
September, November,
And these few precious days, I'll spend with you,
These precious days, I'll spend with you.
SMILE
(Words by John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons; music by Charlie Chaplin)
Smile though your heart is aching,
Smile even though it's breaking,
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by,
If you smile through your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow,
You'll see the sun come shining through for you. Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness,
Although a tear may be ever so near,
That's the time you must keep on trying,
Smile, what's the use of crying,
You'll find that life is still worthwhile,
If you just smile. That's the time you must keep on trying,
Smile, what's the use of crying,
You'll find that life is still worthwhile,
If you just smile.
SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES
(Jerome Kern) ... from the Broadway musical, "Roberta"
They asked me how I knew,
My true love was true,
I of course replied,
Something here inside,
Cannot be denied. They said someday you'll find,
All who love are blind,
When your heart's on fire,
You must realize,
Smoke gets in your eyes. So I chaffed them and I gayly laughed,
To think they could doubt my love,
Yet today my love has flown away,
I am without my love. Now laughing friends deride,
Tears I cannot hide,
So I smile and say,
When a lovely flame dies,
Smoke gets in your eyes,
Smoke gets in your eyes.
SOLILOQUY
(Rodgers and Hammerstein) ... from the Broadway musical "Carousel"
Probably the longest song in all Broadway history.
Comparible only to Hickey’s talk in "The Iceman Cometh"
I wonder what he'll think of me,
I guess he'll call me the "old man"
I guess he'll think I can lick,
Ev'ry other feller's father,
Well, I can.
I bet that he'll turn out to be,
The spittin' image of his dad.
But he'll have more common sense,
Than his puddin-headed father ever had.
I'll teach him to wrassle,
And dive through a wave,
When we go in the mornin's for our swim.
His mother can teach him,
The way to behave,
But she won't make a sissy out o' him.
Not him ... Not my boy ... Not Bill.
Bill ... I will see that he is named after me, I will.
My boy, Bill ... he'll be tall
And tough as a tree, will Bill.
Like a tree he'll grow,
With his head held high,
And his feet planted firm on the ground.
And you won't see nobody dare to try,
To boss or toss him around.
No pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully'll toss him around.
I don't give a damn what he does,
As long as he does what he likes.
He can sit on his tail,
Or work on a rail,
With a hammer, hammering spikes.
He can ferry a boat on a river,
Or peddle a pack on his back,
Or work up and down,
The streets of a town,
With a whip and a horse and a hack.
He can haul a scow along a canal,
Run a cow around a corral.
Or maybe bark for a carousel,
Of course it takes talent to do that well.
He might be a champ of the heavyweights,
Or a feller that sells you glue,
Or President of the United States.
That'd be all right, too,
His mother would like that.
But he wouldn't be President unless he wanted to be ... not Bill.
My boy, Bill, he'll be tall,
And as tough as a tree, will Bill.
Like a tree he'll grow,
With his head held high,
And his feet planted firm on the ground.
And you won't see nobody dare to try,
To boss or toss him around.
No fat-bottomed, flabby-faced, pot-bellied…
Baggy-eyed bastard'll boss him around.
And I'll be damned if he'll marry the boss' daughter,
A skinny-lipped virgin with blood like water,
Who'll give him a peck,
And call it a kiss,
And look in his eyes through a lorgnet.
Say, why am I talkin' on like this?
My kid ain't even been born, yet !
I can see him when he's seventeen or so,
And startin' to go with a girl,
I can give him lots of pointers, very sound,
On the way to get 'round any girl.
I can tell him ...
Wait a minute !
Could it be?
What the hell,
What if he is a girl?
What would I do with her?
What could I do for her?
A bum with no money.
You can have fun with a son,
But you got to be a father to a girl.
She mightn't be so bad at that,
A kid with ribbons in her hair.
A kind o' neat and petite,
Little tin-type of her mother.
What a pair !
I can just hear myself bragging about her:
My little girl,
Pink and white,
As peaches and cream is she.
My little girl,
Is half again as bright,
As girls are meant to be.
Dozens of boys pursue her,
Many a likely lad does what he can to woo her,
From her faithful dad.
She has a few,
Pink and white young fellers of two and three.
But my little girl,
Gets hungry ev'ry night and she come home to me.
My little girl, my little girl,
I got to get ready before she comes.
I got to make certain that she,
Won't be dragged up in slums,
With a lot o' bums like me.
She's got to be sheltered,
And be dressed in the best money can buy.
I never knew how to get money,
But, I'll try, by G-d, I'll try.
I'll go out and make it, or steal it,
Or take it ... or die !
SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
(Rodgers and Hammerstein) ... from the Broadway musical "South Pacific"
Some enchanted evening you may see a stranger,
You may see a stranger across a crowded room,
And somehow you know, you know even then,
That somewhere you'll see her again and again. Some enchanted evening, someone may be laughing,
You may hear her laughing across a crowded room,
And night after night, as strange as it seems,
The sound of her laughter will sing in your dreams. Who can explain it, who can tell you why,
Fools give you reasons, wise men never try. Some enchanted evening, when you find your true love,
When you feel her call you across a crowded room,
Then fly to her side and make her your own,
Or all through your life you may dream all alone. Once you have found her, never let her go,
Once you have found her, never let her go.
SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
(Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg)
recorded by Judy Garlend in "The Wizard of Oz"
Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. One day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops;
That's where you'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly,
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why, then oh why can't I?
ST. JAMES INFIRMARY
I went down to the St. James Infirmary,
Saw my baby there,
She stretched out on a long white table,
So cold, so sweet, so fair. Let her go, let her go, G-d bless her,
Wherever she may be,
She can look this wide world over,
But she'll never find a sweet man like me. When I die want you to please bury me,
In my hightop Stetson hat,
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain,
So the boys'll know that I died standing pat. (Repeat second stanza ... note: this song is a ballad, and the stanzas go on and on.)
STARDUST
(Hoagy Carmichael)
There was a time when every dance affair would end with this melody.
Sometimes I wonder why I spend the lonely nights,
Dreaming of a song,
The melody, haunts my reverie,
And I am once again with you,
When our love was new, and each kiss an inspiration. But that was long ago, and now my consolation,
Is in the stardust of a song. Beside the garden wall when stars are bright,
You are in my arms,
The nightingale, tells his fairy tale,
Of paradise where roses grew,
Though I dream in vain, in my heart you will remain,
My stardust melody,
The memory of love's refrain.
STORMY WEATHER
(Harold Arlen)
He also wrote "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "That Old Black Magic"
Don't know why,
There's no sun up in the sky,
Stormy weather,
Since my gal and I ain't together,
Keeps raining all the time. Life is bare,
Gloom and misery everywhere,
Stormy weather,
Just can't get my poor old self together,
I'm weary all the time. When she went away,
The blues walked in and then they met me,
If she stays away,
That old rocking chair's bound to get me,
All I do is pray,
The L-rd above will let me,
Just walk in that sun again. Can't go on,
Everything I had is gone,
Stormy Weather,
Since my gal and I ain't together,
Keeps raining all the time,
Keeps raining all of the time.
STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
(Kaempfert/Singleton/Snyder) ... recorded by Frank Sinatra.
Strangers in the night exchanging glances, Wond'ring in the night,
What were the chances we'd be sharing love,
Before the night was through. Something in your eyes was so inviting,
Something in you smile was so exciting,
Something in my heart,
Told me I must have you. Strangers in the night, two lonely people,
We were strangers in the night,
Up to the moment,
When we said our first hello, Little did we know,
Love was just a glance away,
A warm embracing dance away and -.Ever since that night we've been together,
Lovers at first sight, in love forever,
It turned out so right,
For strangers in the night.
SUMMER TIME
(George and Ira Gershwin from “Porgy and Bess”)
Summer time and the living is easy,
Fish are a-jumpin' and the cotton is high,
Your daddy's rich and your mama's good-looking,
So, hush, little baby, don't you cry. One of these mornings, you're gonna rise up singin',
Then you'll sopread your wings and take to the sky,
But until that morning there's nothing can harm you,
With daddy and mamma standing by.
SUPPER TIME
(Written by Irving Berlin and sung by the great Ethel Waters)
Supper time
I should set the table
'cause its supper time
Somehow I'm not able
'cause that man o'mine
Ain't comin' home no more. Supper time
Kids will soon be yellin'
For their supper time
How'll I keep from tellin'
Them that man o'mine
Aint comin' home no more? How'll I keep explainin' when they ask me where he's gone?
How'll I keep from cryin' when I bring their supper on?
How can I remind them to pray at their humble board?
How can I be thankful when they start to thank the lord
Lord! Supper time
I should set the table
'cause its supper time
Somehow I'm not able
'cause that man o'mine
Ain't comin' home no more.
Art is art only if it helps your soul fly on eagles' wings,
If music is not uplifting to the human soul, then it just isn't music.
It should allow you to see and feel where you otherwise couldn't see and feel.So another look at the …Menu ... maybe another song?
And music having its charms …Songs Page 5 ... will take you to songs T - Z.
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