From the operetta “The Merry Widow”, 1907
Words by Adrian Ross
Music by Franz Lehar
Arranged by H. M. Higgs
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
My Fatherland, it is for thee
I ought to work from one to three
Though as there isn’t much to do
I only come at half past two
But working so exhausts a man
And I take all the rest I can
I need a sleep to put me right
And that’s why I sit up all night
I’m very busy at my club
We have a hundred on the rub
I lose a thousand of the best
Then get the girls to take the rest
I go off to Maxim’s
Where fun and frolic beams
With all the girls I chatter
I laugh and kiss and flatter
Lo-lo, Do-do, Jou-jou
Clo-clo, Margot, Frou-frou
For surnames do not matter
I take the first to hand
And then the corks go pop
We dance and never stop
The ladies smile so sweetly
I catch and kiss them neatly
Lo-lo, Do-do, Jou-jou
Clo-clo, Margot, Frou-frou
Till I forget completely
My dear old Fatherland
Then I refresh my jaded brain
With little suppers and champagne
And look into the ladies’ eyes
Till they and I are close allies
So, in a glass of golden wine
An entente cordiale I sign
For I can do that sort of thing
As well as any other king
Then I allow the lovely sex
To wear my arms around their necks
And give the waiter at the door
An order for a dozen more
I’m happy at Maxim’s
Where fun and frolic beams
With all the girls I chatter
I laugh and kiss and flatter
Lo-lo, Do-do, Jou-jou
Clo-clo, Margot, Frou-frou
For surnames do not matter
I take the first to hand
And then the corks go pop
We dance and never stop
The ladies smile so sweetly
I catch and kiss them neatly
Lo-lo, Do-do, Jou-jou
Clo-clo, Margot, Frou-frou
Till I forget completely
My dear old Fatherland