From the musical “Leave It To Jane”, 1917
Words by P. G. Wodehouse
Music by Jerome Kern
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- I feel a yearning, whene’er I’m returning
To my lonely bachelor gloom
The joint I inhabit is so dull and drab, it
Is like getting back to a tomb
This thought comes often to me
How much more pleasant ‘twould be
If some nice girl were near
My gray existence to cheer
Refrain
It must be great to be married
In spite of what some folks have said
To loiter through life with a dear little wife
Who’d bring you your breakfast in bed
She’d put on your slippers and bring you a book
Then she’d go to the kitchen to speed up the cook
While you took a nap on a cosy settee
What a peach of a life that would be
- I too can’t smother, when back home with mother
A sort of a kind of unrest
You’re quite philanthropic to bring up a topic
I’ve wanted to get off my chest
I’m tired of being alone
I want a man of my own
Life then couldn’t be slow
And I’d be happy I know
Refrain
It must be great to be married
And hustle through life with a mate
Who’d get up at five, for a ride or a drive
And start playing tennis at eight
He’d wake you in summer when daylight was dim
Then you’d swing Indian clubs and go off for a swim
By nine you’d be driving your ball from the tee
What a peach of a life that would be
Ending:
By nine, did you say
You would drive from the tee?
No! I don’t think that life would suit me
Vocal demo.
Stub sung by Vancha March.
Bessie sung by Marian March.