Sample Lyrics
Three Lyrics from Little Johnny Jones
"The Yankee Doodle Boy"
Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohan
George M.
Cohan and first wife Ethel Levy kick up
their heels in Little Johnny Jones (1904).
George M. Cohan introduced this song himself in Little Johnny Jones (1904). The title character is an American jockey who has come to London to race in the English Derby on an American horse named Yankee Doodle. He is telling a crowd of admirers about his plans to win the race. The verses and refrain are in stirring 2/4 march time.
This is the lyric as it appears in the original sheet music, published by F.A. Mills (NY) in 1904.
Verse I
I'm the kid that's all the candy,
I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy,
I'm glad I am,
So's Uncle Sam.
I'm a real live Yankee Doodle,
Made my name and fame and boodle
Just like Mister Doodle did, by riding on a pony.
I love to listen to the Doodle strain,
I long to see the girl I left behind me;
And that ain't a josh,
She's a Yankee, by gosh,
Oh, say can you see
Anything about a Yankee that's phony?
Refrain
I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy,
AYankee Doodle, do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam's,
Born on the Fourth of July.
I've got aYankee Doodle sweetheart,
She's my Yankee Doodle joy.
Yankee Doodle came to London,
Just to ride the ponies,
I am a Yankee Doodle boy.
Verse 2
Father's name was Hezikiah,
Mother's name was Ann Maria,
Yanks through and through,
Red, White and Blue.
Father was so Yankee-hearted,
When the Spanish war was started
He slipped on his uniform and hopped up on a pony.
My mother's mother was a Yankee true,
My father's father was a Yankee too,
And that's going some,
For the Yankees, by gum,
Oh, say can you see
Anything about my pedigree that's phony?
(Repeat Refrain)
"Give My Regards To Broadway"
Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohan
Cohan introduced this in Little Johnny Jones (1904). American jockey Johnny Jones has been falsely accused of losing the English Derby on purpose, and must stay in London for the investigation that he hopes will clear his name. With this song, he bids farewell to his friends sailing home. The verses and refrain are in 2/4 march time.
This is the lyric as it appears in the original sheet music, published by F.A. Mills (NY) in 1904.
Verse I
Did you ever see two Yankees part
Upon a foreign shore,
When the good ship's just about to start
For old New York once more?
With tear-dimmed eye, they say good-bye,
They're friends, without a doubt;
When the man on the pier
Shouts, "Let them clear,"
As the ship strikes out.
Refrain
Give my regards to Broadway,
Remember me to Herald Square.
Tell all the gang at Forty-second Street
That I will soon be there.
Whisper of how I'm yearning
To mingle with the old-time throng;
Give my regards to old Broadway
And say that I'll be there, e'er long.
Verse 2
Say hello to dear old Coney Isle,
If there you chance to be.
When you're at the Waldorf, have a smile
And charge it up to me.
Mention my name ev'ry place you go,
As 'round the town you roam;
Wish you'd call on my gal,
Now remember, old pal,
When you get back home.
(Repeat Refrain)
"Life's A Funny Proposition After All
Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohan
In the final act of Little Johnny Jones (1904), the intrepid title hero returns to America with his name cleared, only to find his beloved fiancée has been kidnapped. While searching for her in San Francisco, Jones pauses for a moment to reflect on the seeming strangeness of life. Cohan's bemused delivery made the song a popular favorite -- more for its philosophical lyric than for its minimal melody.
This is the lyric as it appears in the original sheet music, published by F.A. Mills (NY) in 1904.
Verse 1
Did you ever sit and ponder,
Sit and wonder, sit and think,
Why we're here and what this life is all about?
It's a problem that has driven
Many brainy men to drink,
It's the weirdest thing they've tried to figure out.
About a thousand diff'rent theories
All the scientists can show,
But never yet have proved a reason why
With all we've thought
And all we're taught,
Why all we seem to know
Is we're born and live a while and then we die.
Refrain 1
Life's a very funny proposition after all,
Imagination, jealousy, hypocrisy and all.
Three meals a day, a whole lot to say;
When you haven't got the coin you're always in the way.
Ev'rybody's fighting as we wend our way along,
Ev'ry fellow claims the other fellow's in the wrong;
Hurried and worried until we're buried and there's no curtain call.
Life's a very funny proposition after all.
Verse 2
When all things are coming easy, and when luck is with a man,
Why then life ti him is sunshine ev'rywhere;
Then the fates blow rather breezy and they quite upset a plan,
Then he'll cry that life's a burden hard to bear.
Though today may be a day of smiles, tomorrow's still in doubt,
And what brings me joy, may bring you care and woe;
We're born to die, but don't know why, or what it's all about,
And the more we try to learn the less we know.
Refrain 2
Life's a very funny proposition, you can bet,
And no one's ever solved the problem properly as yet.
Young for a day, then old and gray;
Like the rose that buds and blooms and fades and falls away,
Losing health to gain our wealth as through this dream we tour.
Ev'rything's a guess and nothing's absolutely sure;
Battles exciting and fates we're fighting until the curtain falls.
Life's a very funny proposition after all.