From the 1915 musical revue “Hello Broadway”.
Words and music by George M. Cohan.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- If you want to make good in a Broadway show
You must have a song that is sure to go
A pretty little ditty that they whistle ’round the city
And they play ev’rywhere, ev’ry day ev’rywhere
It’s a regular, popular tin pan song
The kind of a melody can’t go wrong
A catchy refrain, the sort of a strain
That gives you a pain when you hear it again
The orchestra murders it o’er and o’er
The ushers applaud and they shout for more
They resort to the trick of the gallery “clique”
So, the encores will not miss
The management features it near and far
It’s usually sung by the female star
The publisher gives her a motor car
And the chorus goes something like this
Chorus
Down by the Erie, there waits my pal
Tho’ the days are long and dreary
He declares he’ll ne’er grow weary
Poor John O’Leary
I’m afraid you’ve lost your gal
For I’ve left you flat, my dearie
By the Erie Canal
- Yes, there must be a song in the Broadway show
There must be a song with a swing and go
That’s sure to raise a ruction
That’s the hit of the production
That they hum as they go, as they come to and fro
A melody haunting you day and night
The kind of a tune any kid can write
You hear it at lunch, a song for the bunch
A song with a hunch, a song with a punch
And that is the reason they advertise
The song of the season, the big surprise
Oh, this terrible song, just to boost it
Not an old time trick they miss
The fellow who puts on the chorus stuff
Is on to the fact that this song’s a bluff
He knows that the audience has enough
But the management wants it like this
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: