1. |
Our Overture
02:53
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If you have someone you adore, and every fellow has,
Do yourself a favor, kid. Take her to hear some jazz.
If you should take her out, there’s nowhere so exciting as
A club with cats and music that’s
a sheer assault of sharps and flats
Take her to hear some jazz, take it from me, relax.
Wait til she hears a standard getting ravaged with an axe.
Before she knows what hit her you will have her trading fours.
Take her to hear some jazz and she’ll be yours, all yours.
If you have someone you admire, and everybody has,
You’ll increase your chances if you take her to hear some jazz.
On a Friday night there’s nothing so effective as
A glimpse of Birdland’s Bop machines,
with fakebooks full of sharp thirteens.
Take her to hear some jazz, watch all her cares subside.
Thirty-two bars of Two-Five-Ones, taking it way outside.
She’ll change just like the changes over which that tenor soars,
Take her to hear some jazz and she’ll be yours all yours.
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3. |
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If they’d had flappers back in Shakespeare’s day,
Instead of the profound soliloquies,
Willy wouldn’t know just what to say,
He might resort to making sounds like these:
(Scat)
Hey Ho, Hip Hip Hooray,
If they’d had flappers back in Shakespeare’s day.
If they’d had flappers in his century,
Surely they’d have taught the bard to swing.
That old bit on the balcony,
Might sound a little like the following:
(Scat)
Hey Ho, Hip Hip Hooray,
If they’d had flappers back in Shakespeare’s day.
Wherefore art though, Billy the bard?
In your swingin’ leotard,
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Sure thing, Momma, whatever you say.
If they’d had flappers back in Shakespeare’s day,
Hamlet would’ve had a lot more fun.
He’d start chasing his blues away,
To Charleston or not to Charleston?
(Scat)
Hey Ho, Hip Hip Hooray,
Hidey hidey hidey ho,
Hey-de Hey-de Hey-de Hey,
(Scat)
Parting is such sweet sweet sorrow,
Keep cool Momma, dig you tomorrow.
That is what those flapper girls would say, if they,
Were shaking it in Shakespeare’s day.
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4. |
Three Little Sisters
02:07
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Three little sisters singing a song,
Making up a melody, skipping along,
Laughing at the in-jokes, kicking acorns,
Little boys drive by honking their horns.
Three girls smoking cigarettes,
Three girls making horrible noise,
Three bad little Juliets,
Making Romeos out of the boys.
Watch out! Look out! We’re on a mission,
Our number one ambition is making a scene.
Watch out! Look out! Three little sisters,
Eighteen, twenty and seventeen.
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5. |
That Kind of Night
02:20
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I like the good old fashioned suits and ties,
I like a good old fashioned song.
But if I seem old fashioned in your eyes,
You may have read me wrong.
Although I like old fashioned movie stars,
I’ve got a side few people see.
When I’m in private with a modern girl,
There’s nothing old fashioned about me.
I’m thinking thoughts largely proscribed,
And quite a bit has been imbibed...
Tonight is that kind of night
That particular kind of soft moonlight
That causes mayhem and bliss,
Strangers kiss, on evenings like this.
Those stars are the mischievous kind.
I would not be the least bit shocked to find
My arms enfolding you tight,
I just might, cuz it’s that kind of night.
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6. |
I'll Keep Looking
02:27
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I’ll keep looking for you
If you’ll keep looking for me
No matter how naive it seems to be.
I will keep an eye out, everywhere I go
Til the oceans dry out, and the moon won’t glow.
I’ll be tempted to quit,
But I’ll keep playing the game,
And I hope that you will do the same.
If it never happens, how lonely life will be,
but I’ll keep looking for you, if you’ll keep looking for me.
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7. |
It Doesn't Look So Good
01:32
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It doesn’t look so good for you and me, dear.
I have to say, it doesn’t look so good.
I’ve given us an X-ray, and I don’t like what I see,
This might not be an awful time to come up with plan B.
We have a malady that’s seldom cured, dear,
Let me just say I hope your heart’s insured, dear,
Who knows? It might turn out alright, just like we hoped it would,
But from where I’m standing babe, it doesn’t look so good.
Our love may make a comeback, and I’m hoping for the best,
But if this were Wall Street, I’d advise you to divest.
I do not like the look of that horizon,
I think I feel the temperature risin’,
It isn’t you, it isn’t me, we gave it all we could
But I been looking closely and it doesn’t look,
It doesn’t look,
It don’t look so good.
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8. |
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I used to think songs of romance were far from profound.
Why must these lyricists all tread the same shallow ground?
I used to cringe at that crap that the crooners sang.
Then one day you walked into my life, and BOOM! POW! BANG!
There aren’t enough love songs, in all the world,
For me to express this thing I’m at the mercy of.
Songwriters may pen a million a year,
But they will have to start getting in gear,
If they wanna even scratch the surface of my love.
There aren’t enough love songs. Not even close.
So let Caruso sing until his throat is sore.
There used to be enough for me before,
But now that I’ve met you, they’ll have to write more.
There aren’t enough love songs, in all the world,
For me to express this thing I’m at the mercy of.
If, every minute, ten more are begat,
They’ll simply have to do better than that,
If they wanna even scratch the surface of my love.
There aren’t enough love songs. Not even close.
So let the tenors butcher serenades galore,
There used to be enough for me before,
But now that I’ve met you, they’ll have to write more.
They’ll have to write more, more, more, more more.
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9. |
Abracadabra, Presto
03:34
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Good evening friends, and welcome,
It’s a pleasure to be here.
To show you my first miracle, I’ll need a volunteer.
You Sir, please step forward,
You’d be just ideal, I bet.
And please confirm for everyone
That we have never met.
(“Why no, We’re not acquainted”.)
Then you ain’t seen nothing yet!
I’ll take a moon, an ordinary moon,
Like the kind that you see each night,
And Abra cadabra, Presto!
It’ll beam down twice as bright.
I’ll take a song, a mediocre song
Any band could be butchering,
And Abra cadabra, Presto!
It’ll make your poor heart sing.
If you ask how one achieves this feat, I’ll simply grin,
And tell you nothing’s up my sleeves,
Except two arms to hold you in.
I’ll take a man, a mild mannered man
Who’s inclined to keep his cool.
I’ll nestle to his chest-o
And Abra cadabra, Presto,
Voila, A hazy, stuttering crazy
Love struck fool!
But that, my friends, is nothing,
Just a simple parlor trick.
Like the disappearing dove
Or levitating candle stick,
Now I’ll need a couple,
A contended, perfect pair,
I would like to call upon that happy twosome there.
Please Monsieur and Mademoiselle,
Step up here if you dare!
I’ll give a wink, a normal little wink
Just a blink of an eye, and look,
Abra cadabra, Presto,
Now he’s hanging from my hook.
I’ll give a smile, a normal little smile,
And a tilt of a normal head,
And abra cadabra, Presto,
You can watch her face turn red.
About a minute previous,
You saw them cling and laugh.
But with my powers devious,
I sawed that perfect pair in half.
I took a man, a good devoted man,
And I showed him a little skin,
My perfume did the rest-o
And Abra cadabra, presto,
Voila! Behold! I made his girl invisible to him!
If you ask how one achieves this feat, I’ll simply grin,
And tell you nothing’s up my sleeves,
Except two arms to hold you in,
and a look that gets beneath your skin,
I’ll take, take a man
Who’s inclined to keep his cool.
I’ll nestle to his chest-o,
And abra cadara, Presto,
Abra cadabra, Razzamatazz,
Alla-kazam, and all that jazz,
Around the world I leave them all in awe,
With my Presto, Voila!
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10. |
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Underneath the lilac tree we happened to meet one day.
Underneath the lilac tree the twenty-third of May
Underneath the lilac tree we sang a romantic tune
Underneath the lilac tree the seventeenth of June.
On the fifth of August I was quite surprised to see
The one that I’d been waiting for get down upon one knee
Then I knew how happy it was possible to be
Underneath the lilac tree
On the fifth of August I was quite surprised to see
The one that I’d been waiting for get down upon one knee
Then I knew how happy it was possible to be
Underneath the lilac tree
Underneath the lilac tree
.
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11. |
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(SHE:)
I’m looking for a guy
with a strong square jaw
and a sense of humor too
I go for the guys with the piercing eyes
But tonight I’ll settle for you
I’ll settle for you
I’m looking for a man with an even tan
Who’s about, say, six foot two
That’s my ideal mate,
but it’s getting kinda late
So tonight I’ll settle for you
I looked for Cassanovas but there wasn’t one in sight
So if you pay the cab fare, I guess it’s your lucky night!
The fellas with appeal and abs of steel
are the kind that I pursue
So although I would prefer a guy
With a slightly less unsightly tie
Tonight you’ll have to do,
Tonight I’ll settle for you.
(scat)
(HE:)
She’s used to getting men
Who are perfect 10
And at best I’m a perfect 3
But the place is dead and it’s time for bed
So tonight she’ll settle for me,
She’ll settle for me
She’d really prefer it if I were
a little more VIP
But it’s time to close, so I suppose
Tonight she’ll settle for me
(SHE:)
I hoped to meet Adonis,
With a rose on his lapel
But there is a depression on
So OK, what the hell.
(HE:)
She’s looking for a dude with an attitude
and a really cool tattoo
(SHE:)
But times are tough, and you’re male enough
(HE:)
Though we both know I’m not up to snuff
(SHE:)
Tonight you’ll have to do.
Tonight I’ll settle for you.
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12. |
Oh You Dear One
02:13
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Oh you dear one, Oh you darling thing,
I’ve got no patience.
Oh you sweet one, my beloved,
Please, oh please oh please.
Oh you dear one,
Show me how to quash your reservations,
I’m drifting out to sea.
For God’s sake marry me.
O ma cherie; ma bien aimee,
Je'n peux plus attendre.
O, ma dou-ce, mon adoree,
Je t'en supplie.
O ma cherie; O ma bien aimee,
Sois sans crain-te;
Ramene-moi au bon port;
Epouse-moi, je t'en prie.
I’m drifting out to sea,
For God’s sake, marry me.
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13. |
Write Yourself a Melody
02:23
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(Scat)
Write yourself a melody
Come up with a tune
The words may not come easily
So stick to “June Moon Croon”.
Hum a little melody
Figure out the root
The harmonies suggest themselves
The chords will follow suit
Hop up, way up high
Plummet gracefully.
Vary the rhythm for a couple of bars and,
Keep ‘em guessing!
Write yourself a rhapsody
Be it square or hip,
It’s pleasure, it’s a pip
It’s a treasure, it’s a trip
Just pick up your axe-
And let ‘er rip!
First do it forwards
Then hit reverse
Follow a format
Tack on a verse- as an afterthought.
Change the key without warning,
Use all of the notes,
There’s only a dozen, but cousin, you just gotta
Keep ‘em guessing!
Write yourself a rhapsody
Be it square or hip,
It’s pleasure, it’s a pip.
It’s a treasure, it’s a trip.
Just pick up your axe-
And let ‘er rip!
Sing it in the shower
In your special shower key
Write yourself a melody
Tag it!
Write yourself a melody.
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Ben Patton Burlington, Vermont
Ben Patton is a songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Vermont, USA.
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