CHARACTERISTICS OF COLE PORTER SONGS

COLE  PORTER
(1891 - 1964)

All of COLE PORTER’s shows were either REVUES or witty MUSICAL COMEDIES.  He wrote both the WORDS and MUSIC for all of his songs.  He did NOT write the books (scripts) for his shows.  He left that for professional writers dedicated to that area of work. 

A COLE PORTER song was usually written for a SOPHISTICATED New York or London  audience and often fell under one of these three song types --

    1.    Witty LIST SONGS (or “catalog” songs), sometimes with risque or double entendre meanings or with then-current topical references (that were often of necessity changed either by Cole or others with the passing of time to keep them relevant to the listener/audience and/or because of censorship problems).

    2.    Highly dramatic and INTENSE LOVE SONGS with evocative imagery.

    3.    BREEZY LOVE SONGS with interesting rhymes or ingenious wordplay.

Similar to the work of IRA GERSHWIN and the other great lyricists of this period, COLE PORTER’s lyrics often employ internal and multiple RHYME SCHEMES and REPETITION of words and phrases (although they are presented in a natural phrasing and are not always apparent to the casual listener). 

          

Classic Cole Porter Songs Introduced in the

Original 1934 Broadway Production of

A N Y T H I N G   G O E S

All Through the Night
(Intense LOVE Song)


Anything Goes
(Topical Subject LIST Song}


Blow, Gabriel, Blow
(Upbeat NOVELTY Song in the
“Black Spiritual” Tradition)


The Gypsy in Me
(Breezy LOVE Song)


 I Get a Kick Out of You
(Breezy LOVE Song)


 You’re the Top
(Name-Dropping LIST Song)

Porter YOU'RE THE TOP

 "YOU'RE THE TOP"
From Anything Goes (1934)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (First Verse HE)
  1  At words poetic, I'm so pathetic
  2  That I always have found it best,
  3  Instead of getting 'em off my chest,
  4  To let 'em rest unexpressed,
  5  I hate parading my serenading
  6  As I'll probably miss a bar,
  7  But if this ditty is not so pretty
  8  At least it'll tell you how great you are.

    (First Refrain)
  1  You're the top!  You're the Coliseum.
  2  You're the top!  You're the Louvre Museum.
  3  You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss.
  4  You're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare's sonnet, 
  5  You're Mickey Mouse! 
  6  You're the Nile.  You're the Tower of Pisa.
  7  You're the smile on the Mona Lisa.
  8  I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop.
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!

    (Second Verse SHE)
  1  Your words poetic are not pathetic.
  2  On the other hand, boy, you shine,
  3  And I can feel after every line
  4  A thrill divine down my spine.
  5  Now gifted humans like Vincent Youmans
  6  Might think that your song is bad,
  7  But for a person who's just rehearsin'
  8  Well, I gotta say this, my lad:

    (Second Refrain)
  1  You're the top!  You're Mahatma Gandhi.
  2  You're the top!  You're Napoleon Brandy.
  3  You're the purple light of a summer night in Spain.
  4  You're the National Gallery, you're Garbo's salary,
  5  You're cellophane! 
  6  You're sublime.  You're turkey dinner.
  7  You're the time of a Derby winner.
  8  I'm a toy balloon that’s fated soon to pop.
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

    (Third Refrain)
  1  You're the top!  You're a Ritz hot toddy.
  2  You're the top!  You're a Brewster body.
  3  You're the boats that glide on the sleepy Zuider Zee.
  4  You're a Nathan panning, you're Bishop Manning,
  5  You're broccoli!
  6  You're a prize.  You're a night at Coney.
  7  You're the eyes of Irene Bordoni.
  8  I'm  broken doll, a fol-de-fol, a blop.
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!
    (Fourth Refrain)
  1  You're the top!  You're a dance in Bali.
  2  You're the top!  You're a hot tamale.
  3  You're an angel, you, simply too, too, too diveen,
  4  You're a Boticcelli, You're Keats, You're Shelley,
  5  You're Ovaltine!
  6  You're a boon, you're the dam at Boulder.
  7  You're the moon over Mae West's shoulder.
  8  I'm the nominee of the G.O.P. or GOP.
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

      (Fifth Refrain)
  1  You're the top!  You're an arrow collar. 
  2  You're the top!  You're a Coolidge dollar,
  3  You're the nimble tread of the feet of Fred Astaire.
  4  You're an O'Neill drama, you're Whistler's mama,
  5  You're camembert!
  6  You're a rose.  You're Inferno's Dante,
  7  You're the nose on the great Durante.
  8  I'm just in the way, as the French would say, "de trop."
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

      (Sixth Refrain)   
  1  You're the top!  You're the Tower of Babel.
  2  You're the top!  You're the Whitney stable.
  3  By the river Rhine you're a sturdy stein of beer.
  4  You're a dress from Sak's, you're next year's taxes,
  5  You're stratosphere!
  6  You're my thoist.  You're a Drumstick Lipstick.
  7  You're da foist in the Irish svipstick.
  8  I'm a frightened frog that can find no log to hop.
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

    (Seventh Refrain)
  1  You're the top!  You're a Waldorf salad.
  2  You're the top!  You're a Berlin ballad.
  3  You're a baby grand of a lady and a gent.
  4  You're an old Dutch master, you're Mrs. Astor,
  5  You're Pepsodent!
  6  You're romance, you're the steppes of Russia.
  7  You're the pants on a Roxy usher.
  8  I'm a lazy lout that's just about to stop.
  9  But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

 

Porter I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU

"I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU"
From Anything Goes (1934)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (Verse)
  1  My story is much too sad to be told,
  2  But practically ev'rything leaves me totally cold.
  3  The only exception I know is the case
  4  When I'm out on a quiet spree
  5  Fighting vainly the old ennui,
  6  And I suddenly turn and see
  7  Your fabulous face.

    (Refrain)
  1  I get no kick from champagne.
  2  Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all,
  3  So tell me why should it be true
  4  That I get a kick out of you?
  5  Some get a kick from cocaine.
  6  I'm sure that if I took even one sniff
  7  That would bore me terrific'ly too.
  8  Yet I get a kick out of you.
  9  I get a kick ev'rytime I see
10  You standing there before me.
11  I get a kick though it's clear to me
12  You obviously don't adore me.
13  I get no kick in a plane,
14  Flying too high with some guy in the sky
15  Is my idea of nothing to do,
16  Yet I get a kick out of you.


The lyrics were first altered shortly after being written. The last verse originally went as follows:

    I get no kick in a plane
    I shouldn't care for those nights in the air
    That the fair Mrs. Lindbergh goes through
    But I get a kick out of you.

After the Lindbergh kidnapping,[1] Porter changed the second and third lines to:

    Flying too high with some guy in the sky
    Is my idea of nothing to do

In the 1936 movie version, alternative lyrics in the second verse were provided to replace a reference to the drug cocaine, which were not allowed due to the Hays Code.

The original verse goes as follows:

    Some get a kick from cocaine
    I'm sure that if
    I took even one sniff
    That would bore me terrifically, too
    Yet, I get a kick out of you

Porter changed the first line to:

    Some like the perfume in Spain

One alternative version popularised by Alyson Ottaway changes the verse to:

    Some like the bop-type refrain
    I'm sure that if
    I heard even one riff
    It would bore me terrifically, too
    Yet, I get a kick out of you

On different occasions, Sinatra recorded the original ("cocaine") and both post-Hays versions: the first in 1953 ("perfume in Spain") and the second ("bop-type refrain") in 1962.

Porter ANYTHING GOES

"ANYTHING GOES"
From Anything Goes (1934)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (Verse)
  1  Times have changed,
  2  And we've often rewound the clock
  3  Since the Puritans got a shock
  4  When they landed on Plymouth Rock.
  5  If today any shock they should try to stem,
  6  'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
  7  Plymouth Rock would land on them.

    (First Refrain)
  1  In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
  2  Was looked on as something shocking,
  3  But now, God knows,
  4  Anything goes.
  5  Good authors, too, who once knew better words
  6  Now only use four-letter words writing prose.
  7  Anything goes.
  8  If driving fast cars you like,
  9  If low bars you like,
10  If old hymns you like,
11  If bare limbs you like,
12  If Mae West you like,
13  Or me undressed you like,
14  Why, nobody will oppose.
15  When ev'ry night the set that's smart is in-
16  Truding in nudist parties
17  In Studios,
18  Anything goes.

    (Second Refrain)
  1  When Missus Ned McLean (God bless her)
  2  Can get Russian reds to "yes" her,
  3  Then I suppose
  4  Anything goes.
  5  When Rockefeller still can hoard enough money
  6  To let Max Gordon produce his shows,
  7  Anything goes.
  8  The world has gone mad today
  9  And good's bad today,
10  And black's white today,
11  And day's night today,
12  And that gent today
13  You gave a cent today
14  Once had several chateaux.
15  When folks who still can ride in jitneys
16  Find out Vanderbilts and Whitneys
17  Lack baby clo'es,
18  Anything goes.

    (Third Refrain)
  1  If Sam Goldwyn can with great conviction
  2  Instruct Anna Sten in diction,
  3  Then Anna shows
  4  Anything goes.
  5  When you hear that Lady Mendl standing up
  6  Now turns a handspring landing up on her toes,
  7  Anything goes.
  8  Just think of those shocks you've got
  9  And those knocks you've got
10  And those blues you've got
11  From that news you've got
12  And those pains you've got
13  (If any brains you've got)
14  From those little radios.
15  So Missus R., with all her trimmin's,
16  Can broadcast a bed from Simmons
17  'Cause Franklin knows
18  Anything goes.

Porter JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS

"JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS"
From Jubilee (1935)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (Verse)
  1  As Dorothy Parker once said to her boyfriend:
  2  "Fare thee well!"
  3  As Columbus announced
  4  When he knew he was bounced:
  5  "It was swell, Isabelle, swell!
  6  "As Abelard said to Heloise:
  7  "Don't forget to drop a line to me, please."
  8  As Juliet cried in her Romeo's ear:
  9  "Romeo, why not face the fact, my dear?"

    (Refrain)
  1  It was just one of those things,
  2  Just one of those crazy flings,
  3  One of those bells that now and then rings,
  4  Just one of those things.
  5  It was just one of those nights,
  6  Just one of those fabulous flights --
  7  A trip to moon on gossamer wings.
  8  Just one of those things.
  9  If we'd thought a bit of the end of it
10  When we started painting the town,
11  We'd have been aware that our love affair
12  Was too hot not to cool down. 
13  So, goodbye, dear, and amen!
14  Here's hoping we meet now and then.
15  It was great fun,
16  But it was just one of those things!

Porter YOU DON'T KNOW PAREE

"YOU DON'T KNOW PAREE"
From Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (Verse)
  1  You come to Paris, you come to play.
  2  You have a wonderful time.  You go away.
  3  And from then on, you talk of Paris knowingly.
  4  You may know Paris, you don't know Paree.

    (Refrain)
  1  Though you've been around a lot,
  2  And danced a lot, and laughed a lot,
  3  You don't know Paree.
  4  You may say you've seen a lot,
  5  And heard a lot, and learned a lot--
  6  You don't know Paree.
  7  Paree will still be laughing after ev'ry one of us disappears,
  8  But never once forget, her laughter is the laughter that hides the tears.
  9  And until you've lived a lot, and loved a lot, and lost a lot,
10  You don't know Paree, you don't know Paree.

Porter LOVE FOR SALE

"LOVE FOR SALE"
From The New Yorkers (1930)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

  1  When the only sound in the empty street
  2  Is the heavy tread of the heavy feet
  3  That belong to a lonesome cop,
  4  I open shop.
  5  When the moon so long has been gazing down
  6  On the wayward ways of this wayward town
  7  That her smile becomes a smirk,
  8  I go to work.
  9  Love for sale.
10  Appetizing young love for sale--
11  Love that's fresh and still unspoiled,
12  Love that's only slightly soiled.
13  Love for sale.
14  Who will buy?
15  Who would like to sample my supply?
16  Who's prepared to pay the price
17  For a trip to paradise?
18  Love for sale.
19  Let the poets pipe of love
20  In their childish way;
21  I know every type of love
22  Better far than they.
23  If you want the thrill of love,
24  I've been through the mill of love--
25  Old love, new love --
26  Every love but true love.
27  Love for sale.
28  Appetizing young love for sale.
29  If you want to buy my wares,
30  Follow me and climb the stairs.
31  Love for sale.

Porter I'M A GIGOLO

"I'M A GIGOLO"
From Wake Up and Dream (1929)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (Verse)
  1  I should like you all to know, I'm a famous gigolo.
  2  And of lavender, my nature's got just a dash in it.
  3  As I'm slightly undersexed, you will always find me next
  4  To some dowager who's wealthy rather than passionate.
  5  Go to one of those night club places
  6  And you'll find me stretching my braces
  7  Pushing ladies with lifted faces 'round the floor.
  8  But I must confess to you there are moments when I'm blue.
  9  And I ask myself whatever I do it for.

    (Refrain)
  1  I'm a flower that blooms in the winter, sinking deeper and deeper in snow.
  2  I'm a baby who has no mother but jazz.  I'm a gigolo.
  3  Ev'ry morning, when labor is over, to my sweet-scented lodgings I go,
  4  Take the glass from the shelf and look at myself.  I'm a gigolo.
  5  I get stocks and bonds from faded blondes ev'ry twenty-fifth of December.
  6  Still, I'm just a pet that men forget and only tailors remember.
  7  Yet when I see the way all the ladies treat their husbands
    who put up the dough,
  8  You cannot think me odd if then I thank God I'm a gigolo.

Porter BEGIN THE BEGUINE

"BEGIN THE BEGUINE"
From Jubilee (1935)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

  1  When they begin the beguine,
  2  It brings back the sound of music so tender,
  3  It brings back a night of tropical splendor,
  4  It brings back a memory ever green!
  5  I'm with you once more under the stars,
  6  And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
  7  Even the palms seem to be swaying, 
  8  When they begin the beguine!
  9  To live it again is past all endeavor,
10  Except when that tune clutches my heart,
11  And there we are, swearing to love forever,
12  And promising never, never to part!
13  What moments divine, what rapture serene,
14  Till clouds come along to disperse
15  The joys we had tasted,
16  And now when I hear people curse
17  The chance that was wasted,
18  I know but too well what they mean.
19  So, don't let them begin the beguine,
21  Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember;
22  Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
23  When they begin the beguine!
24  Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play!
25  'Til the stars that were there before return above you,
26  'Til you whisper to me once more, "Darling, I love you!"
27  And we suddenly know what heaven we're in,
28  When they begin the beguine,
29  When they begin the beguine!

Porter YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

"YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME"
From Fifty Million Frenchmen (1928)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)



    (Verse)
  1  I was mighty blue -- thought my life was through
  2  'Til the heavens opened and I gazed at you.
  3  Won't you tell me, dear, why, when you appear,
  4  Something happens to me
  5  And the strangest feeling goes through me?

    (Refrain)
  1  You do something to me --
  2  Something that simply mystifies me.
  3  Tell me why should it be
  4  You have the power to hypnotize me?
  5  Let me live 'neath your spell.
  6  You do that voodoo that you do so well.
  7  For you do something to me
  8  That nobody else could do.

Porter NIGHT AND DAY

 “NIGHT AND DAY”
From Gay Divorce (1932)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)

    (Verse)
  1  Like the beat beat beat of the tom-tom
  2  When the jungle shadows fall.
  3  Like the tick tick tock of the stately clock
  4  As it stands against the wall.
  5  Like the drip drip drip of the raindrops
  6  When the summer shower is through.
  7  So a voice within me keeps repeating
  9  “You, you, you.”

    (Refrain)
  1  Night and day, you are the one--
  2  Only you, ‘neath the moon or under the sun.
  3  Whether near to me or afar,
  4  No matter, darling, where you are,
  5  I think of you night and day.
  6  Day and night why is it so
  7  That this longing for you
  8  Follows wherever I go.
  9  In the roaring traffic’s boom
10  In the silence of my lonely room
11  I think of you night and day.
12  Night and day under the hide of me
13  There's an oh such a hungry yearning
14  Burning inside of me.
15  And this torment won’t be through
16  ‘Til you let me spend my life making love to you
17  Day and night, night and day.

Porter LET'S DO IT

"LET'S DO IT"
From Paris (1928)
LYRICS BY COLE PORTER
(Music by Cole Porter)
(British version as recorded by Cole Porter's
West Indian protege "Hutch" [Leslie Hutchinson]
as introduced on the stage by Irene Bordoni)

    (Verse)
1  When the little blue(A)bird, (B) who has never said a word, (B)
    starts to sing (C) "Spring, (C) spring," (C)
2  And the little blue(A)bell (D) in the bottom of the dell (D)
    starts to ring "Ding, (C) ding," (C)
3  When the little blue(A) clerk(E) in the middle of the park* (E)
4  Sing(C)s a tune (F) to the moon (F) up above-- (G)
5  It is nature, that's all, (H) simply telling us to fall (H) in love. (G)

    (First Refrain)
1  And that's(A) why Chinks do it (B).  Japs(A) do it. (B)  Up in Lap(A)land, little     Laps(A) do it.** (B)
2  Let's(C) do it (A) -- let's(C) fall in love. (D)  In Spain, the best
    upper sets(C) do it. (B)
3  Lithuanians and Letts (C) do it. (B)  Let's (C) do it (B) -- let's (C) fall in love. (D)
4  The Dutch in old Amsterdam (E) do it (B) -- not to mention the Finns. (F)
5  Folks in Siam (E) do it (B) (think of Siam(E)ese twins). (F)
6  Some Argentines (G), without means (G), do it. (B)
7  People say in Boston even beans (G) do it. (B)  Let's (C) do it (B) --
    let's(C) fall in love. (D)

    (Second Refrain)
1  Romantic sponges, they say, do it.  Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it.
2  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.  Cold Cape Cod clams against their wish do it.
3  Even lazy jellyfish do it.  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.
4  The most refined schools of cod do it (though it shocks them, I fear).
5  Sturgeon, thank God, do it -- Have some caviar, dear.***
6  In shady shoals, Dover soles do it.
7  Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it.  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.

    (Third Refrain)
1  The dragonflies in the reeds do it.  Sentimental centipedes do it.
2  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.  Mosquitoes, heaven forbid, do it,
3  So does every katydid do it.  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.
4  The most refined ladybugs do it when a gentleman calls.
5  Moths in your rugs do it (what's the use of moth balls?).
6  Locusts in trees do it.  Bees do it.
7  Even overeducated fleas do it.  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.
  
    (Fourth Refrain)
1  The chimpanzees in the zoos do it.  Some courageous kangaroos do it.
2  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.  I'm sure giraffes on the sly do it.
3  Heavy hippopotami do it.  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.
4  Old sloths who hang down from twigs do it, though the effort is great.
5  Sweet guinea pigs do it (buy a couple and wait).
6  We know that bears in pits do it.
7  Even pekineses at the Ritz do it.  Let's do it -- let's fall in love.


* Broadway version:  middle of his work

** To avoid offense, Porter soon changed these lines to what has become standard: "Birds do it.  Bees do it.  Even educated fleas do it."

***US version:
Electric eels, I might add, do it  (though it shocks 'em, I know).
Why ask if shad do it?  Waiter, bring me shad roe.




Additional lyrics from the Broadway production--

The nightingales in the dark do it.  Larks, k-razy for a lark, do it.

Canaries caged in the house do it.  When they're out of season, grouse do it.

The most sedate barnyard fouls do it when a chaticleer cries.
High-browed old owls do it (they're supposed to be wise).

Penguins in flocks on the rocks do it.
Even little cuckoos in their clocks do it.

Gershwin - I CAN'T GET STARTED

“I CAN’T GET STARTED”

From Ziegfeld Follies of 1936

LYRICS BY IRA GERSHWIN

(Music by Vernon Duke)

    (Verse) (Original 1936)

  1  I'm a glum one. (A)  It's explainable: (B)

  2  I met someone (A) unattainable. (B)

  3  Life's a bore.  (C)

  4  The world is my oyster no more. (C)

  6  All the papers (D) where I lead (E) the news (F)

  7  With my capers (D)

  8  Now will spread (E) the news: (F)

  9  Superman (G)

10  Turns out to be flash-in-the-pan. (G)

    (Refrain) (Paraphrased 1959)

  1  I've flown around the world in a plane.  (A)

  2  Designed the latest IBM brain.  (A)

  3  But lately I'm so downhearted  (B)

  4  ‘Cause I can't get started (B) with you.  (C)

  5  In Cincinnati or in Rangoon,  (D)

  6  I simply smile and all the gals swoon--  (D)

  7  Their whims I've more than just charted  (B)

  8  But I can't get started (B) with you.  (C)

  9  Oh, tell me why (E) I am no kick (F) to you-- (C)

10  I, who’d always stick (F) to you, (C)

11  Fly through thin and thick (F) to you-- (C)

12  Tell me why (E) I’m taboo. (C)

13  Each time I chanced to see Franklin D (G)

14  He always said, “Hi, Buddy” to me.  (G)

15  And with queens I’ve a la cart-ed, (B)

16  But I can’t get started (B) with you.  (C)

Gershwin - LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY

“LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY”
From Cover Girl (film) (1944)
LYRICS BY IRA GERSHWIN
(Music by Jerome Kern)

  1  Long (A) ago (B) and far away (C)
  2  I dream(D)ed a dream (D) one day(C)--
  3  And now that dream (D) is here beside (E) me (F).
  4  Long (A) the skies were overcast, (G)
  5  But now the clouds have passed: (G)
  6  You’re here at last! (G)
  7  Chills run up and down my spine, (H)
  8  Aladdin’s lamp is mine: (H)
  9  The dream (D) I dream(D)ed is not denied (E) me. (F)
10  Just one look and then I knew (I)
11  That all I long(A)ed for long (A) ago (B) was you (I).

Gershwin - BUT NOT FOR ME

“But Not for Me"
From Girl Crazy (1930)
LYRICS BY IRA GERSHWIN
(Music by George Gershwin)

    (Verse)
  1  Old man sunshine--listen, you!  (A)
  2  Never tell me dreams come true!  (A)
  3  Just try it  (B) --and I’ll start a riot. (B) 
  4  Beatrice Fairfax--don’t you dare  (C)
  5  Ever tell me he will care;  (C)
  6  I’m certain (D) it’s the final curtain. (D)
  7  I never want to hear (E)
  8  From any cheer(E)ful Pollyannas, (F)
  9  Who tell you Fate (G) Supplies a Mate-- (G)
10  It’s all bananas!  (F)


    (Refrain)
  1  They’re writing songs of love, (A) but not for me; (B)
  2  A lucky star’s above, (A) but not for me. (B)
  3  With love to lead the way,  (C)
  4  I’ve found more clouds of gray  (C)
  5  Than any Russian play (C) could guarantee.  (B)
  6  I was a fool to fall and get that way;  (C)
  7  Heigh ho!  Alas! and also, lackaday!  (C)
  8  Although I can’t dismiss (D) the mem’ry of his kiss(D)
  9  I guess he’s not for me.  (B)

Ira Gershwin’s ingenious play-on-word ending of an additional refrain from the original but normally not used in popular recordings--

  8  When ev’ry happy plot ends with the marriage knot--
  9  And there’s no knot for me

Gershwin - THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY

“THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY”

From A Star is Born (film) (1954)

LYRIC BY IRA GERSHWIN

(Music by Harold Arlen)

  1  The night(A) is bitter(B) -- the stars have lost their glitter(B).

  2  The winds grow colder(C), and suddenly you(D)'re older(C).

  3  And all(E) because of the man(F) that(G) got away(H).

  4  No more(I) his(J) eager call(E) -- the writing's on(K) the wall(E):

  5  The dream(L)s you(D) dream(L)ed have all(E) gone(K) astray(H).

  6  The man(F) that(G) won(M) you(D) has gone(K) off and undone(M) you(D).

  7  That great beginning(N) has seen the final inning(N).

  8  Don't know what happened -- it's all(E) a crazy game(O)!

  9  No more (I) that all(E) time thrill(P), for you(D)'ve been through(D) the mill(P),

10  And never a new(D) love will be the same(O).

11  Good(Q) riddance, good(Q)bye!  Every trick of his(J) you(D)'re on(K) to(D).

12  But fools(R) will be fools(R), and where's he(S) gone(K) to(D)?

13  The road gets rougher(T) -- it's lonelier and tougher(T).

14  With hope you(D) burn(U) up(V) -- tomorrow he(S) may(H) turn(U) up(V).

15  There's just no(I) let up(V) the live-long night(A) and day(H).

16  Ever since this world began(F) there is nothing sadder than(F)

17  A one-man(F) woman looking for the man(F) that(G) got away (H)...

18  The man(F) that(G) got away (H).

74 words are either rhyming words or duplicate words

(One third of all 227words in the song)

A =  2    I = 6        Q = 2

B =  2    J = 2    R = 2

C =  2    K = 5    S = 2

D = 11    L = 2    T = 2

E =  6    M = 2    U = 2

F =  7     N = 2    V = 3

G =  4    O = 2

H =  6    P = 2

Gershwin - LOVE IS HERE TO STAY

“LOVE IS HERE TO STAY”
From The Goldwyn Follies (film) (1938)
LYRICS BY IRA GERSHWIN
(Music by George Gershwin)

    (Verse)
  1  The more I read the papers (A) the less I comprehend (B)
  2  The world and all its capers (A) and how it all will end. (B)
  3  Nothing seems to be lasting, but that isn’t our affair; (C)
  4  We’ve got something permanent--I mean, in the way we care. (C)

    (Refrain)
  1  It’s very clear (A) our love is here to stay. (B)
  2  Not for a year (A) but ever and a day. (B)
  3  The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know (C)
  4  May just be passing fancies and in time may go. (C)
  5  But oh, my dear, (A) our love is here to stay.  (B)
  6  Together we’re (A) going a long, long way. (B)
  7  In time the Rockies may crumble, (D)
  8  Gibraltar may tumble (D) (they’re only made of clay), (B)
  9  But our love is here to stay. (B)