Showing You All What A Dork I am. (Wonderful Town Lyrics)

[Isabella2]

Posted: 1/16/06 at 12:43am

So i couldn't find the Lyrics to Wonderful Town's song, Swing so i decided to listen to the song piece by piece and try to write them myself. A lot of the world are smushed and don't make any sense, so i'd love it for you guys to help me correct anything you think is different.

Speedy: C’mon sister! Get a mob around ya! Make with the pitch. Get hip!

Ruth: Yes sir. Hip!
Step up, Step up,
Get hip. Get hip.
Come on down to the Village Vortex
Home of the new jazz rage,
Swing!
Rock and roll to the beat, beat, beat
Of Speedy Villenti and his crazy cats.

Man: Hey cats. Get a load of that square!

Ruth:
Swing,
Dig the rhythm,
Swing,
Dig the message
The jive is jumping
And the music goes round and around.
Woah-oh!
Goes around and around.
Cats, make it solid.
Cats, make it groovy
Ya gotta get your seafood mama
Your favorite dish is fish.
It’s your favorite dish.
Don’t be square.
Rock right outta that rockin’ chair.
Truck on down and let down your hair.
Breathe that barrel-house air.
The Village Vortex,
Swing.
Dig the rhythm,
Swing,
Dig the message
The Jive is jumping
And the music goes round and around
Get full of four yaki-saki
Get full of the sound of
Swing
The solid groovy jivey sound of.

Ensemble:
Swing,
Dig the rhythm,
Swing,
Dig the message
The jive is jumping
And the music goes round and around.
Woah-oh!

Ruth: Ooooh!

Ensemble:
Cats, make it solid
Cats, make it groovy
Ya gotta get your seafood mama
Your favorite dish is fish.

Ruth: OOOh! I got it!

Ensemble:
Don’t be square.
Rock right outta that rockin’ chair.
Truck on down and let down your hair.
Breathe that barrel-house air.
Ya gotta get with the wooohoodyhoo

Ruth: Woohoodyhoo
Ensemble: Your gut gut bucket.
Ruth:Your gut gut bucket!
Ensemble: A-squiddly-o-day!
Ruth: A-squiddly-o-day!
Ensemble: Heedle-heedle-heedle
Ruth: Heedle-Heedle-Heedle
Ensemble: Well, allright then cats!
Ruth: Well, allright then cats!
Ensemble: Yes, yes, baby I know.

Ruth:
Well, yes, yes,
Baby I know that old man
Mole’s kicked the bucket
That old kicken bucket
That hungadaroound round round round
Baby, I know, know, know
Was it red?
No, no, no.
Was it green ,green ,green?
Is it the color of my tulips there?
Hirbreath harry with the floy
Floydoy, floydoy flodoy flodoy oy!
Oh I dreamt, I dwelled in marble halls,
Where it is, well, baby I know know know
Was it green?
No, no, no
Was it red cells in the sun?
Calling me, me, me?
You good for nothing, me, me, me, me
Me Tarzan, Me Jane
Swinging in the tree!
Swinging in the tree
Swinging in the tree
Swingin’
Swingin’
Swingin’
Swingin
Swingin!

Ensemble:
Swing, Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
Swing, Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
Swing, Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!

Ruth:
Floydoy,
floydoy,
floydoy
floydoy, Hoy!

Ensemble: Ch!
Ruth: Gazumtheit
Ensemble: Thanks
Ruth: You’re welcome.

Ensemble: Woah! C’mon Jackson, you’re getting hip!
Ruth: Yeah!
Ensemble: C’mon Jackson, you’re getting hip!
Ruth: Alright!
Ensemble: C’mon Jackson, you’re getting hip!
Ruth: I want my favorite dish!
Ensemble: Fish!
Ruth: Gazuntheit!
Ensemble: Thanks!
Ruth: Here’s another one!

Ensemble:
Solid!
Groovey!
Jivey!
Sound of Swing!
Ch! Swing
Ah! Do it!
Solid Jackson!
Seafood mama! Woah!
Go, go, go, go!
Swing swing
Swing swing

Ruth:
Swing, Swing,
Green?
No!
Red?
No!
Me Tarzan?
Naw, naw, naw ,naw.
That old man mole, done kicked that bucket.
Down in the well, well, well, well.
My favorite dish?
Ah! Fish!

Ensemble: Gasumtheit
Ruth: Thank you!
Ensemble: You’re welcome!
Swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing,.

Ruth: (High pitched jazzy “woo”)

sorry if that was too painful for anyone to read, but i'd appreciate any feedback as to what the hell this song is saying. Donna Murphy said in an interview that she knew all of the "references". anyone have a link the actual lyrics?

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 3/12/06 at 9:15pm

I was just going through the archives and found the lyrics you typed out for "Swing". I think a lot of the references are to old songs from the 30's and 40's...I remember
watching some documentary and hearing some piece of a song and thinking "oh...that's where it came from!" Here's some stuff I just researched:

"I Dreamt I Dwelled in Marble halls" is from the opera Bohemian Girl (1936)

"Ol' Man Mose" is a song (one of it's singers was Ella Fitzgerald) and part of it's lyric went like this:

(You believe) Mose kicked the bucket
(You believe) Mose kicked the bucket
(You believe) Mose kicked the bucket
(You believe he's dead)

There was a song sung by the Andrew's Sisters called "Hold Tight, Want Some Seafood Mama"

There is a song sung by Ella Fitzgerald that's called "music goes 'round and around":

"I blow thru here
The music goes 'round and around
Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho"

Louis Armstrong had a song called "Gut Bucket Blues" (which may be why she uses the LA accent here:)

That old Oaken bucket (in Swing as "that old oaken bucket that hung in the well well) is a traditional song:

"The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,
The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well."

I think the was it red/was it green references the song "A Tisket a Tasket" also famously sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

"the color of my true love's hair" (not tulips there, it's hard to understand:) is a reference to the song "black was the color of my true love's hair" which is apparently an old folk tune.

the floys were a reference to the song The Flat Foot Floogey Slim and Slam from 1938. "The Flat Foot Floogee with the floy floy, floy doy, floy doy, floy doy, floy doy."

Hairbreadth Harry is a comic strip from the 1920's which was made into a silent short.

"red sails in the sunset" (instead of red cells in the sun...I never quite got those lyrics right either) is a song.

I don't know what the "you good for nothing" is referencing but I feel like I should...

Tarzan and Jane was a popular movie series back then.

Those were the references I could find. I'm sure there are more!:)

Updated On: 3/12/06 at 09:15 PM

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 3/12/06 at 10:01pm

Here are the correct lyrics:

Speedy: C’mon sister! Get a mob around ya! Make with the pitch. Get hep!

Ruth: Yes sir. Hep.
Step up, Step up,
Get hep. Get hep.
Come on down to the Village Vortex
Home of the new jazz rage,
Swing!
Rock and roll to the beat, beat, beat
Of Speedy Valenti and his crazy cats.

Man: Hey cats. Get a load of that square!

Ruth:
Swing,
Dig the rhythm,
Swing,
Dig the message
The jive is jumping
And the music goes round and around.
Woah-oh!
Goes around and around.
Cats, make it solid.
Cats, make it groovy
Ya gotta get your seafood mama
Your favorite dish is fish.
It’s your favorite dish.
Don’t be square.
Rock right outta that rockin’ chair.
Truck on down and let down your hair.
Breathe that barrel-house air.
The Village Vortex,
Swing.
Dig the rhythm,
Swing,
Dig the message
The Jive is jumping
And the music goes round and around
Get full of fury yaki-saki (THIS IS THE ONLY LINE I'M NOT SURE OF THE SPELLING FOR)
Get full of the sound of
Swing
The solid groovy jivey sound of.

Ensemble:
Swing,
Dig the rhythm,
Swing,
Dig the message
The jive is jumping
And the music goes round and around.
Woah-oh!

Ruth: Ooooh!

Ensemble:
Cats, make it solid
Cats, make it groovy
Ya gotta get your seafood mama
Your favorite dish is fish.

Ruth: OOOh! I got it!

Ensemble:
Don’t be square.
Rock right outta that rockin’ chair.
Truck on down and let down your hair.
Breathe that barrel-house air.
Ya gotta get with the whoa ho-dee ho

Ruth: Whoa ho-dee ho
Ensemble: The gut gut bucket.
Ruth: The gut gut bucket!
Ensemble: A-skeedly-o-day!
Ruth: A-skeedly-o-day!
Ensemble: Heedle-heedle-heedle
Ruth: Heedle-Heedle-Heedle
Ensemble: Well, all right then cats!
Ruth: Well, all right then cats!
Ensemble: Yes, yes, baby I know.

Ruth:
Well, yes, yes,
Baby I know that old man
Mose kicked the bucket
That old oaken bucket
That hung in the well, well, well,
Well, baby, I know,
Was it red?
No, no, no.
Was it green ,green ,green?
Is it the color of my true love's hair
Hair-breath Harry with the floy
Floydoy, floy doy floy doy floy doy hoy!
Hoy dreamt, hoy dwellt in ma-har-ble halls'
Well that ends well, well, well
Baby, I know
Was it green?
No, no, no
Was it red sails in the sunset
Calling me, me, me?
You good for nothing, me, me, me, me
Me Tarzan, you Jane
Swinging in the trees!
Swinging in the trees
Swinging in the trees
Swingin’
Swingin’
Swingin’
Swingin
Swingin!

Ensemble:
Swing, Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
Swing, Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
Swing, Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!

Ruth:
Floydoy,
floydoy,
floydoy
floydoy, Hoy!

Ensemble: Ch!
Ruth: Gesundheit
Ensemble: Thanks
Ruth: You’re welcome.

Ensemble: Woah! C’mon Jackson, you’re getting hep!
Ruth: Yeah!
Ensemble: C’mon Jackson, you’re getting hep!
Ruth: Alright!
Ensemble: C’mon Jackson, you’re getting hep!
Ruth: I want my favorite dish!
Ensemble: Fish!
Ruth: Gesundheit
Ensemble: Thanks!
Ruth: You're welcome

Ensemble:
Solid!
Groovy!
Jivey!
Sound of Swing!
Ch! Swing
Ah! Do it!
Solid Jackson!
Seafood mama! Woah!
Go, go, go, go!
Swing swing
Swing swing

Ruth:
Swing, Swing,
Green?
No!
Red?
No!
Me Tarzan?
Naw, naw, naw ,naw.
That old man Mose, he kicked that bucket.
Down in the well, well, well, well.
My favorite dish?
Ah! Fish!

Ensemble: Gesundheit
Ruth: Thank you!
Ensemble: You’re welcome!
Swing, swing, swing, swing, swing, swing,.

Ruth: (High pitched jazzy “woo”)

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 3/12/06 at 10:32pm

Brilliantly explicated, buffyactsing.

"Good for nothing" is from the Rodgers and Hart song MIMI
("Mimi/you funny little good-for-nothing Mimi/am I the guy?")



Vivian Darkbloom
Ramsdale, New England

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 4:35am

thanks for noting that enchanted_hunter! That was the song I heard in the documentary and finally knew the reference! Now I remember! I feel complete again!

Updated On: 3/14/06 at 04:35 AM

[BwayLover]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 6:36am

Wow! I'm SO impressed. It's great to finally *get* all these references. Thanks!

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 11:33am

"Old Man Mose kicked the bucket"

I always thought she said "Old Man Mose came to boogie, dat old oogen-boogen dag hoonginda well well well, etc." until I read the vocal score and then it's "kicked the bucket, that old oaken bucket that hung in the well, well, well, etc."

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 3:28pm

Is this thread about misheard lyrics or "Swing?"

[Isabella2]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 7:00pm

haha wow! Buffyactsing kicks ass! I wrote this thread so long ago and was disappointed when no one commented so i'm glad all my questions are answered. Where on earth did you get all those references?

just wondering, why is it hep intead of hip?

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 8:25pm

Wonderful Town is set in 1935, and the popular expression for being a really cool person, was to be a "hep cat".

Though 'hip' and 'hep' are essentially the same thing, 'hip' was more of a 50s/60s term.

There's a song, "I'm Hip," that Blossom Dearie sings, that includes the line, "When it was hip to be hep, I was hep," as a way of explanation.

[gettinhep]

Posted: 3/14/06 at 10:30pm

Some of us have been gettin' hep for some time.

I seem to recall that Betty Comden mentioned Hairbreadth Harry in an interview. It had been Adolph Green's favorite comic strip character and they couldn't resist adding it to the song.