The Magic of Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls

We talked about this musical a lot, so go over this book and especially the songs we discussed:

Sit down, you’re rocking the boat

Adelaide’s lament

We talked about the originally Jewish character played by Sam Levene in the play (but not the movie) and the song “Sue Me”

Guys and Dolls 1951 – Frank Loesser

lyrics: https://genius.com/Frank-loesser-sit-down-youre-rockin-the-boat-lyrics

lyrics here: https://genius.com/Frank-loesser-sit-down-youre-rockin-the-boat-lyrics

Guys and Dolls was based on the stories of Damon Runyon. The character “Nathan Detroit” was created especially for the Jewish actor Sam Levene. In the movie Frank Sinatra played the Jewish gangster. Frank Loesser who wrote the songs and music was horrified and to his death refused to see the movie.

The average unmarried female
Basically insecure
Due to some long frustration may react
React?
With psychosomatic symptoms
Difficult to endure
Affecting the upper respiratory tract
Achoo

In other words
Just from waiting around
For that little band of gold
A person can develop a cold

You can spray her wherever you figure
The streptococci lurk
You can give her a shot
For whatever she's got
But it just won't work
If she's tired of getting the fish-eye
From the hotel clerk
A person
Can develop a cold

The female remaining single, uh
Just in the legal sense, ahh
Shows a neurotic tendency
See note
Where's note? Uh

Chronic organic syndromes
Toxic and hypertense
Involving the eye,
The ear and the nose and throat
Oh, that's very interesting

In other words
Just from worrying
Whether the wedding is on or off
A person
Can develop a cough

You can feed her all day
With the Vitamin A
And the Bromo Fizz
But the medicine never
Gets anywhere near
Where the trouble is
If she's getting a kind
Of name for herself
And the name ain't "his"
A person
Can develop a cough

And further more
Just from stalling
And stalling and stalling
The wedding trip
A person
Can develop la grippe

When they get on a train For Niagara
And she can hear church bells chime
The compartment is air conditioned
And the mood sublime
They get off at Saratoga
For the fourteenth time
Well, a person
Can develop la grippe
La grippe, la post nasal drip
With the wheezes
And the sneezes
And a sinus that's really a pip

From a lack of community property
And a feeling she's getting too old
A person
Can develop a bad, a bad, a really, really bad cold

Ah, ah, ah ah achoo

You can read the whole beautiful play here.