From the musical “Showboat”, 1927.
Words by P. G. Wodehouse and Oscar Hammerstein 2nd.
Music by Jerome Kern.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- I used to dream that I would discover
The perfect lover some day
I knew I’d recognize him
If ever he came ’round my way
I always used to fancy then
He’d be one of the God-like kind of men
With a giant brain and a noble head
Like the heroes bold in the books I read
Burthen
But along came Bill
Who’s not the type at all
You’d meet him on the street and never notice him
His form and face, his manly grace
Are not the kind that you
Would find in a statue
And I can’t explain, it’s surely not his brain
That makes me thrill
I love him because he’s wonderful
Because he’s just old Bill
- He can’t play golf, or tennis, or polo
Or sing a solo, or row
He isn’t half as handsome
As dozens of men that I know
He isn’t tall and straight and slim
And he dresses far worse than Ted or Jim
And I can’t explain why he should be just
The one, one man in the world for me
Burthen
He’s just my Bill, an ordinary boy
He hasn’t got a thing that I can brag about
And yet to be upon his knee
So comfy and roomy feels natural to me
And I can’t explain, it’s surely not his brain
That makes me thrill
I love him because he’s I don’t know
Because he’s just my Bill