ELIZABETH
>From the London Revue "The Wonder Bar" (1930)
(Music: Robert Katscher / Lyrics: Rowland Leigh)
Elsie Randolph - 1930
Bob & Alf Pearson - 1930
Debroy Somers & His Band - 1930
Ray Noble & The New Mayfair Dance Orch. (vocal: Jack Plant) - 1930
Harry Hudson's Radio Melody Boys (vocal: John Thorne) - 1930
Stan Greening & His Band (Instr.) - 1930
Joe Sargent - 1930
Also recorded by:
Carl Brisson; Joe Loss; Humphrey Lyttelton.
As recorded by ELSIE RANDOLPH with
piano accompaniment by Arthur Young:
I've a friend who's in distress now
And Elizabeth's her name
Do you think you'll ever guess how
She met with grief and shame
Now, it isn't what you're thinking
For she's not that kind at all
And it isn't dope or drinking
That caused the poor girl's fall
My friend Elizabeth's out of temper, out of breath
Ever since she found skirts must trail upon the ground
She's got a better set of legs than even Mistinguett
Now she's got to hide what was once her joy and pride
This fad of over-dressing's depressing, distressing
And catching men grows harder, their ardour's not so strong
My friend Elizabeth's tired of life and prays for death
How can she go wrong now that skirts are long
(Piano Solo)
It's a tune that has no virtue, of the purely chiastic kind (sic)
But enough to disconcert you, for it's taken in your mind
How the Berlin song is slumming, while Vienna crooks do wrong (sic)
They cannot desist from humming this idiotic song
Wenn die Elizabeth nicht so schöne Beine hätt'
hätt' sie viel mehr Freud'
an dem neuen langen Kleid
Doch, da sie Beine hat
tadellos und kerzengrad
tut es ihr so leid
um das alte kurze Kleid
Das kann man doch verstehen
beim Gehen, beim Drehen
das kann man jetzt nichts mehr sehen
und niemand weiß Bescheid
Ja, wenn die Elizabeth
nicht so schöne Beine hätt'
hätt' sie viel mehr Freud'
an dem neuen langen Kleid
Ooo ja!
*******************
As recorded by JOHN THORNE
with Harry Hudson's Radio Melody Boys:
My friend Elizabeth's out of temper, out of breath
Ever since she found skirts must trail upon the ground
She had a better set of legs than even Mistinguett
Now she's got to hide what was once her joy and pride
Das kann man doch verstehen, beim Gehen, beim Drehen
Kann man jetzt nichts mehr sehen und niemand weiß Bescheid
Ja, my friend Elizabeth's tired of life and prays for death
How can she go wrong now that skirts are long
(Musical Interlude)
Ja! Ja! Ja!, Nien! Nien! Nein!
I scratch your back, you scratch mine
Eins, Swei, Drei, Vier, Funf, Sechs
Little brown jug, ich liebe dich!
*******************
Elisabeth
as performed by Max Raabe
Men and women represent completely different forms of life.
Nevertheless many woman tolerate a male being in their domicile.
In the following song, the gentlemen Katscher, Herzceg & Farkas
explain the relationship between fashion and woman's anatomy.
From 1930: "if it weren't for Elisabeth beautiful legs, she might
have appreciated her new long threads. But her legs, too straight,
too long, too perfect to surpress, really were so much better in
that old short dress"
Wenn die Elisabeth nicht so schöne Beine hätt'
hätt' sie viel mehr Freud' an dem neuen langen Kleid.
Doch, da sie Beine hat, tadellos und kerzengrad,
tut es ihr so leid um das alte kurze Kleid.
Das kann man doch verstehen,
beim Gehen, beim Drehen,
kann man jetzt nichts mehr sehen
und niemand weiß Bescheid.
Ja, wenn die Elisabeth nicht so schöne Beine hätt'
hätt' sie viel mehr Freud' an dem neuen langen Kleid.
Das kann man doch verstehen,
beim Gehen, beim Drehen,
kann man jetzt nichts mehr sehen
und niemand weiß Bescheid.
Ja, wenn die Elisabeth nicht so schöne Beine hätt'
hätt' sie viel mehr Freud' an dem neuen langen Kleid.
(Transcribed by Mel Priddle, ~KS~, and ~MS~August 2014)
