Daily Dose

From The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, edited by Robert Kimball

EXPERIMENT

Before you leave these portals
To meet less fortunate mortals,
There’s just one final message
I would give to you.
You all have learned reliance
On the sacred teachings of science,
So I hope, through life, you never will decline
In spite of philistine
Defiance
To do what all good scientists do.

Refrain

Experiment.
Make it your motto day and night.
Experiment
And it will lead you to the light.
The apple on the top of the tree
Is never too high to achieve,
So take an example from Eve,
Experiment.
Be curious,
Though interfering friends may frown.
Get furious
At each attempt to hold you down.
If this advice you always employ
The future can offer you infinite joy
And merriment,
Experiment
And you’ll see!

Daily Dose

From The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, edited by Robert Kimball

YOU'VE GOT THAT THING

Since first you blew in like a boisterous breeze
I often have wondered, Dear
Why gentlemen all seem to fall on their knees
The moment that you appear
Your fetching physique is hardly unique
You're mentally not so hot
You'll never win laurels because of your morals
But I'll tell you what you've got.....

You've got that thing, you've got that thing
That thing that makes birds forget to sing
Yes, you've got that thing, that certain thing

You've got that charm, that subtle charm
That makes young farmers desert the farm
'Cause you've got that thing, that certain thing

You've got what Adam craved when he
With love for Eve was tortured
She only had an apple tree
But you, you've got an orchard

You've got those ways, those taking ways
That make me rush off to Cartier's
For a wedding ring, you've got that thing

You've got that thing, you've got that thing
That thing that makes vines prefer to cling
Yes, you've got that thing, that certain thing

You've got those looks, those fatal looks
That make book censors enjoy their books
'Cause you've got that thing, that certain thing

Just what made Samson be, for years
Delilah's lord and keeper
She only had a pair of shears
But you, you've got a reaper

You've got that power, that power to grip
That makes me map out a wedding trip
For the early spring, you've got that thing

You've got that thing, you've got that thing
That thing that makes bees refuse to sting
Yes, you've got that thing, that certain thing

You've got that kiss, that kiss that warms
That makes reformers reform reforms
'Cause you've got that thing, that certain thing

They tell us Trojan Helen's lips
Made every man her slavey
If her face launched a thousand ships
Well, yours could launch a navy

You've got that that love, and such a lot
It makes me think you're prepared for what
Any stork might bring, you've got that thing.

Daily Dose

From The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, edited by Robert Kimball

A PICTURE OF ME WITHOUT YOU

From being merely a necessary luxury
And someone sympathetic to have about
Why, now you're nearly a luxurious necessity

I couldn't imagine ever living without
I suppose I'd somehow struggle through
But I'd hate to picture myself without you

Picture Henry Ford without a car
Picture heaven's firmament without a star
Picture Fritzy Kreisler without a fiddle
Picture poor Philadelphia without a Biddle
Picture good cigars without Havana
Picture Huey Long without Louisiana
Mix 'em all together, and what have you got?
Just a picture of me without you

Picture H. G. Wells without a brain
Picture Av'rell Harriman without a train
Picture Tintern Abbey without a cloister
Picture Billy the Oysterman without an oyster
Picture Central Park without a sailor
Picture Mister Lord minus Mister Taylor
Mix 'em all together, and what have you got?
Just a picture of me without you

Picture Ogden Nash without a rhyme
Picture Mister Bulova without the time
Picture Staten Island without a ferry
Picture little George Washington without a cherry
Picture brother Cain without his Abel
Picture Clifton Webb minus Mother Mabel
Mix 'em all together, and what have you got?
Just a picture of me without you

Picture Paul Revere without a horse
Picture love in Hollywood without divorce
Picture Barbara Hutton without a nickel
Picture poor Mister Heinz, my dear, without a pickle
Picture City Hall without boondogglin'
Picture Sunday tea minus Father Coughlin
Mix 'em all together and what have you got?
Just a picture of me without you

Picture Lily Pons without a throat
Picture Harold Vanderbilt without a boat
Picture Billy Sunday without a sinner
Picture dear Missus Corrigan without a dinner
Picture Hamlet's ghost without a darkness
Picture Mother Yale minus Father Harkness
Mix 'em all together and what have you got?
Just a picture of me without you!