Overture
Beautiful Girls
Don't Look At Me
Waiting For The Girls Upstairs
Rain On The Roof
Ah, Paree!
Broadway Baby
The Road You Didn't Take
In Buddy's Eyes
Who's That Woman?
I'm Still Here
Too Many Mornings
The Right Girl
One More Kiss
Could I Leave You?
Loveland
You're Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through
Buddy's Blues / The God Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues
Losing My Mind
The Story Of Lucy And Jessie
Live, Laugh, Love
Finale

Overture

Beautiful Girls


ROSCOE
Hats off,
Here they come, those
Beautiful girls.
That's what
You've been waiting for.

Nature never fashioned
A flower so fair.
No rose can compare
Nothing respectable
Half so delectable.

Cheer them
In their glory,
Diamonds and pearls,
Dazzling jewels
By the score.

This is what beauty can be.
Beauty celestial,
The best, you'll
Agree:
All for you,
These beautiful girls!

Careful,
Here's the home of
Beautiful girls,
Where your
Reason is undone.
Beauty
Can't be hindered
From taking its toll.
You may lose control.
Faced with these Loreleis,
What man can moralize?

Caution,
On your guard with
Beautiful girls,
Flawless charmers
Every one.

This is how Samson was shorn;
Each in her style a
Delilah
Reborn,
Each a gem,
A beautiful diadem
Of beautiful-welcome them-


ROSCOE
These beautiful


ALL
Girls!



Don't Look At Me



SALLY
Ben, it's me.

Now, folks, we bring you
Di-rect from Phoenix,
Live and in person.
Sally Durant!

Here she is at last,
Twinkle in her eye,
Hot off the press.
Strictly a mess,
Nevertheless...

Hi, Ben...

No, don't look at me-
Please, not just yet.
Why am I here?
This it crazy!

No, don't look at me
I know that face.
You're trying to place
The name...

Say something, Ben, anything.

No, don't talk to me.
Ben, I forget;
What were we like?
It's so hazy!

Look at these people.
Aren't they eerie?
Look at this party.
Isn't it dreary?
I'm so glad I came.


BEN
Can I look now? Yes, it's possible
You might be Sally. Did you fall asleep at Toscanini broadcasts?
Did you eat Baby Ruths for breakfast?


SALLY
I still do sometimes. Oh, Ben, you're just the way
I knew you'd be. You make me feel like I was nineteen
and the four of us were going on the town.


BEN & SALLY
So
I just look at us...


SALLY
Fat...


BEN
Turning gray...


BEN & SALLY
Still playing games,
Acting crazy.


SALLY
Isn't it awful?


BEN
God. how depressing


BEN & SALLY
Me, I'm a hundred.
You, you're a blessing
I'm so glad I came!


BEN
What we need is a drink.



Waiting For The Girls Upstairs


YOUNG BUDDY
Hey, up there...


YOUNG BEN
Way up there...


BUDDY & YOUNG BUDDY
Whaddaya say, up there?


BUDDY
God, the four of us together back here.
Hey. up there!
Way up there!
Whaddaya say, up there?

I see it all. It's like a movie in my head that plays and plays.
It isn't just the bad things I remember It's the whole damn show.

Waiting around for the girls upstairs:
After the curtain came down.
Money In my pocket to spend.
"Honey, could you maybe get a friend for my friend!"


BEN
Hearing the sound of the girls above
Dressing to go on the town.


BUDDY
Clicking heels on steel and cement,


BEN
Picking up the giggles floating down through the vent,


BOTH
Goddamnedest hours that I ever spent
Were waiting for the girls
Upstairs


BUDDY
Hey, up there!


BEN
Way up there!


BOTH:
Whaddaya say, up there!


BEN
That's where the keys hung and
That's where you picked up your mail.


BUDDY
I remember:
Me and Ben.
Me and Ben.
We'd come around at ten.
Me and Ben.
And hang around the wings
Watching things
With what-the-hell-was-his-name.
You know, the old guy?
Max! I remember...
Anyway,
There we'd stay
Until the curtain fell.
And when the curtain fell.
Then all hell broke:
Girls on the run
And scenery flying,
Doors slamming left and right


BEN
Girls in their un-
Dies, blushing but trying
Not to duck out of sight.


BEN & BUDDY
Girls by the hun-
Dreds waving and crying.
"See you tomorrow night!"
Girls looking frazzled and girls looking great,
Girls in a frenzy to get to a date,
Girls like a madhouse and two of them late...
And who had to wait?
And wait...
And wait...
And wait...


PHYLLIS
Waiting around for the boys downstairs,
Stalling as long as we dare.
Which dress from my wardrobe of two?
One of them was borrowed and the other was blue.


SALLY
Holding our ground for the boys below,
Fussing around with our hair


PHYLLIS
Giggling, wriggling out of our tights,


SALLY
Chattering and clattering down all of those flights


SALLY & PHYLLIS
God, I'd forgotten there ever were nights
Of waiting for the boys
Downstairs.


BUDDY
You up there!


SALLY
Down in a minute!


BEN
You two up there!


PHYLLIS
Just keep your shirts on!


BEN & BUDDY
Aren't you through up there?


SALLY & PHYLLIS
Heard you the first time!

YOUNG SALLY
Hi...


YOUNG BEN
Girls...


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Ben...


YOUNG BUDDY
Sally...


YOUNG SALLY
Boy, we're beat.


YOUNG BUDDY
You look neat.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
We saw you in the wings.


YOUNG BEN
How are things?


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Did someone pass you in?


YOUNG BUDDY
Slipped a fin
To what-the-hell-is-his-name,
You know, the doorman.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Al?


YOUNG BUDDY
No.


YOUNG SALLY
Big?


YOUNG BEN
Fat.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Young!


YOUNG BUDDY
Bald.


YOUNG SALLY
Harry.


YOUNG BEN
Yeah.


YOUNG SALLY
Okey-doaks.


YOUNG BUDDY
Come on, folks.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
And where we gonna go?


YOUNG BEN
A little joint I know


YOUNG SALLY
What?


YOUNG BUDDY
Great new show there.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Hey, I thought you said tonight'd be Tony's


YOUNG BUDDY
This joint is just as grand.


YOUNG SALLY
We girls got dressed for dancing at Tony's


YOUNG BEN
This joint is in demand.


YOUNG SALLY & YOUNG PHYLLIS
Ta-ta, goodbye, you'll find us at Tony's


YOUNG BUDDY & YOUNG BEN
Wait till you hear the band!

SALLY, PHYLLIS, BEN & BUDDY
Waiting around for the girls upstairs,
Weren't we chuckleheads then?
Very young and very old hat
Everybody has to go through stages like that.

Waiting around for the girls upstairs--
Thank you but never again.
Life was fun but oh, so intense
Everything was possible and nothing made sense

Back there when one of the major events


BUDDY & BEN
Was waiting for the girls,


SALLY & PHYLLIS
Waiting for the girls.


BUDDY & BEN
Waiting for the girls.


SALLY & PHYLLIS
Waiting for the girls,


BUDDY & BEN
Waiting for the girls.


SALLY, PHYLLIS, BUDDY & BEN
Upstairs.



Rain On The Roof


EMILY & THEODORE
Listen to the rain on the roof go


EMILY
Pit-pitty-pat--


THEODORE
Pit-pitty-pat--


EMILY & THEODORE
Pitty--
Sit, kitty cat,
We won't get home for hours.
Relax and
Listen to the rain on the roof go


EMILY
Plunk-planka-plink-


THEODORE
Plunk-planka-plink-


EMILY & THEODORE
Planka-
Let's have a drink
And shelter from the showers.
Rain, rain, don't go away,
Fill up the sky.
Rain through the night.
We'll stay
Cozy and dry.
Listen to the rain on the roof go
Pit-pitty-pat-

Plunk-a-plink-

Plank-

Pity that
It's not a hurricane.
Listen "plink" to the

Lovely rain.



Ah, Paree!


SOLANGE
New York has neon, Berlin has bars,
But ah! Paree!
Shanghai has silk and Madrid guitars.
But ah! Paree!In Cairo you find bizarre bazaars.
In London "pip! pip!" you sip tea.
But when it comes to love.
None of the above
Compares, compris?
So if it's making love
That rou're thinking of,
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah! Paree!


I have seen the ruins of Rome,
I've been in the igloos of Nome.
I have gone to Moscow. it's very gay
Well, anyway.
On the first of May.

I have seen Rangoon and Soho,
And I like them more than so-so.
But when there's a moon.
Goodbye, Rangoon
Allo. Montmartre, allo!

Peking has rickshaws, New Orleans jazz.
But ah! Paree!

Beirut has sunshine -- that's all it has,
But ah! Paree!

Constantinople has Turkish baths
And Athens that lovely debris.
Carlsbad may have a spa.
But for ooh-la-la,
You come with me!

Carlsbad is where you're cured
After you have toured
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah! Paree!



Broadway Baby

HATTIE
I'm just a
Broadway Baby.
Walking off my tired feet.
Pounding Forty-Second Street
To be in a show oh...

Broadway Baby,
Learning how to sing and dance,
Waiting for that one big chance
To be in a show. Oh...Gee.

I'd like to be
On some marquee,
All twinkling lights,
A spark
To pierce the dark
From Battery Park
Way up to Washington Heights.

Someday, maybe,
All my dreams will be repaid.
Hell, I'd even play the maid
To be in a show.

Say, Mr. Producer, yeah!
I'm talking to you, sir;
I don't need a lot,
Only what I've got,
Plus a tube of greasepaint
And a follow-spot!

I'm just a Broadway Baby,

Slaving at the five-and-ten,
Dreaming of the great day whcn
I'll be in a show.Oh...
Broadway Baby,
Making rounds all afternoon,
Eating at a greasy spoon
To have on my dough.
Oh...AtMy tiny flat
There's just my cat.
A bed and o chair
Still
I'll stick it till
I'm on a bill
All over Times Square.
Someday, maybe,

If I stick it long enough,
I may get to strut my stuff
Working for a nice man
Like a Ziegfeld or a Weismann
In a great
Big
Broad-
Way
Show!



The Road You Didn't Take


BEN
You're either a poet
Or you're a lover
Or you're the famous
Benjamin Stone.

You take one road,
You try one door,
There isn't time for any more.
One's life consists of either/or.

One has regrets
Which one forgets,
And as the years go on.

The road you didn't take
Hardly comes to mind,
Does it?

The door you didn't try,
Where could it have led?

The choice you didn't make
Never was defined.
Was it!

Dreams you didn't dare
Are dead.
Were they ever there?
Who said!
I don't remember,
I don't remember
At all.

The books I'll never read
Wouldn't change a thing,
Would they?

The girls I'll never know
I'm too tired for.

The lives I'll never lead
Couldn't make me sing.
Could they?
Could they?
Could they?

Chances that you miss.
Ignore.
Ignorance is bliss
What's more,
You won't remember,
You won't remember at all,
Not at all

You yearn for the women,
Long for the money,
Envy the famous
Benjamin Stones.

You take your road,
The decades fly,
The yearnings fade, the longings die.
You learn to bid them all goodbye.

And oh, the peace,
The blessed peace...
At last you come to know:

The roads you never take
Go through rocky ground,
Don't they?

The choices that you make
Aren't all that grim.

The worlds you never see
Still will be around,
Won't they!

The Ben I'll never be,
Who remembers him?



In Buddy's Eyes


SALLY
Life is slow but it seems exciting
'Cause Buddy's there.
Gourmet cooking and letter-writing
And knowing Buddy's there.

Every morning, don't faint
I tend the flowers. Can you believe it?
Every weekend I paint
For umpteen hours.

And yes, I miss a lot
Living like a shut-in.
No, I haven't got
Cooks and cart and diamonds.

Yes, my clothes are not
Paris fashions, but in
Buddy's eyes
I'm young, I'm beautiful.
In Buddy's eyes
I don't get older.

So life is ducky
And time goes flying
And I'm so lucky
I feel like crying, and...

I married the right man then.

In Buddy's eyes
I'm young, I'm beautiful.
In Buddy's eyes
I can't get older.

I'm still the princess,
Still the prize.
In Buddy's eyes
I'm young, I'm beautiful.
In Buddy's arms,
On Buddy's shoulder
I won't Bet older.
Nothing dies.

And all I ever dreamed I'd be,
The best I ever thought of me,
Is every minute there to see
In Buddy's eyes.



Who's That Woman?


STELLA
Hit it baby!

Who's that woman? I know her well,
All decked out head to toe.
She lives life like a carousel:
Beau after beau after beau.

Nightly, daily,
Always laughing gaily,
Seems I see her everywhere I go.
Oh

Who's that woman?
I know I know that woman,
So clever, but ever so sad.
Love, she said, was a fad.

The kind of love that she couldn't make fun of
She'd have none of.

Who's that woman.
That cheery, weary woman
Who's dressing for yet one more spree?
Each day I see her pass
In my looking-glass
Lord, Lord, Lord,
That woman is me!

SALLY, PHYLLIS, HATTIE, EMILY & SOLANGE
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who's the saddest gal in town?
Who's been riding for a fall?
Whose Lothario let her down?

Mirror, mirror, answer me:
Who is she who plays the clown?
Is she out each night till three?
Does she laugh with too much glee?

On reflection, she'd agree.
Mirror, mirror,
Mirror, mirror,
Mirror, mirror...

I'm Still Here


CARLOTTA
Good times and bum times,
I've seen them all and, my dear,
I'm still here.
Plush velvet sometimes,
Sometimes just pretzels and beer,
But I'm here.

I've stuffed the dailies
In my shoes.
Strummed ukuleles,
Sung the blues,
Seen all my dreams disappear,
But I'm here.

I've slept in shanties,
Guest of the W.P.A.,
But I'm here.
Danced in my scanties,
Three bucks a night was the pay,
But I'm here.

I've stood on bread lines
With the best,
Watched while the headlines
Did the rest.
In the Depression was I depressed?
Nowhere near.

I met a big financier
And I'm here.

I've been through Gandhi,
Windsor and Wally's affair,
And I'm here.
Amos 'n' Andy,
Mah-jongg and platinum hair,
And I'm here.

I got through Abie's
Irish Rose,
Five Dionne babies,
Major Bowes,
Had heebie-jeebies
For Beebe's
Bathysphere.
I lived through Brenda Frazier
And I'm here.

I've gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover,
Gee, that was fun and a half.
When you've been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover,
Anything else is a laugh.

I've been through Reno.
I've been through Beverly Hills,
And I'm here.
Reefers and vino,
Rest cures, religion and pills,
And I'm here

Been called a pinko
Commie tool,
Got through it stinko
By my pool.
I should have gone to an acting school.
That seems clear,

Still, someone said,
"She's sincere,"
So I'm here.

Black sable one day.
Next day it goes into hock,
But I'm here.
Top billing Monday,
Tuesday you're touring in stock,
But I'm here.

First you're another
Sloe-eyed vamp,
Then someone's mother,
Then you're camp.
Then you career from career
To career.

I'm almost through my memoirs.
And I'm here.

I've gotten through "Hey, lady, aren't you whoozis?
Wow! What a looker you were."
Or, better yet, "Sorry, I thought you were whoozis.
Whatever happened to her?"

Good times and bum times,
I've seen 'em all and, my dear,
I'm still here.
Flush velvet sometimes,
Sometimes just pretzels and beer,
But I'm here.

I've run the gamut.
A to Z.
Three cheers and dammit,
C'est la vie.
I got through all of last year
And I'm here.

Lord knows, at least I was there,
And I'm here!
Look who's here!
I'm still here!



Too Many Mornings


BEN
Too many mornings
Waking and pretending I reach for you,
Thousands of mornings
Dreaming of my girl.
All that time wasted,
Merely passing through,
Time I could have spent
So content
Wasting time with you.

Too many mornings
Wishing that the room might be filled with you.
Morning to morning,
Turning into days.
All the days that I thought would never end,
All the nights with another day to spend.
All those times I'd look up to see

Sally standing at the door
Sally moving to the bed,
Sally resting in my arms
With her head against my head.


SALLY
If you don't kiss me, Ben, I think I'm going to die.

How I planned
What I'd wear tonight and
When should I get here,
How should I find you,

Where I'd stand,
What I'd say in case you didn't remember.
How I'd remind you

You remembered.
And my fears were wrong!
Was it ever real?
Did I ever love you this much?
Did we ever feel
So happy then?

The Right Girl


BUDDY
The right girl--yeah!
The right girl,
She makes you feel like a million bucks
Instead of what? like a rented tux.

The right girl--yeah!
The right girl,
She's with you, no matter how you feel,
You're not the good guy, you're not the heel.
You're not the dreamboat that sank, you're real

When you got--yeah!
The right girl--yeah!
And I got...

Hey, Margie, I'm back, babe.
Come help me unpack, babe.
Hey, Margie, hey, bright girl,
I'm home.

What's new, babe? You miss me?
You smell good, come kiss me.
Hey, Margie, you wanna go dancing!
I'm home.

Des Moines was rotten and the deal fell through.
I pushed, babe.
I'm bushed, babe.
I needed you to tell my troubles to--
The heck, babe
Let's neck, babe.

Hey, Margie.
You wanna go dancing?
You wanna go driving?
Or something?

Okay, babe.
Whatever you say, babe--
You wanna stay home!
You wanna stay home!

Hey, Margie. It's day, babe.
My flight goes, no, stay, babe,
You know how you cry, babe
Stay home.

Be good now, we'll speak, babe,
It might be next week, babe
Hey, Margie, goodbye, babe
I gotta go home.

The right girl--yeah!
The right girl--yeah!
She sees you're nothing and thinks you're king,
She knows you've got other songs to sing.
You still could be, hell, well, anything

When you got--yeah!
The right girl
And I got...

Hey, Margie, I'm back, babe.
Come help me unpack, babe.
Hey, Margie, hey, bright girl,
I'm home.

You miss me? I knew it.
Hey, Margie, I blew it
I don't love the right girl.
Ah, shit...



One More Kiss


HEIDI
One more kiss before we part,
One more kiss and, farewell,
Never shall we meet again,
Just a kiss and then
We break the spell.
One more kiss to melt the heart,
One more glimpse of the past.


HEIDI & YOUNG HEIDI
One more souvenir of bliss
Knowing well that this
One must be the last.
Dreams are a sweet mistake.
All dreamers must awake.


YOUNG HEIDI
On, then, with the dance,
No backward glance
Or my heart will break.
Never look back.

HEIDI & YOUNG HEIDI
...One
More kiss and-goodbye.



Could I Leave You?


PHYLLIS
Leave you? Leave you?
How could I leave you?
How could I go it alone?

Could I wave the years away
With a quick goodbye?
How do you wipe tears away
When your eyes are dry?

Sweetheart, lover,
Could I recover,
Give up the joys I have known?

Not to fetch your pills again
Every day at five,
Not to give those dinners for ten
Elderly men from the U.N.

How could I survive?
Could I leave you
And your shelves of the World's Best Books
And the evenings of martyred looks,
Cryptic sighs,
Sullen glares from those injured eyes?
Leave the quips with a sting, jokes with a sneer,
Passionless lovemaking once a year?
Leave the lies ill-concealed
And the wounds never healed
And the games not worth winning
And, wait, I'm just beginning!

What, leave you, leave you,
How could I leave you?
What would I do on my own?
Putting thoughts of you aside
In the south of France,
Would I think of suicide?
Darling, shall we dance?

Could I live through the pain
On a terrace in Spain?
Would it pass? It would pass.
Could I bury my rage
With a boy half your age
In the grass? Bet your ass.

But I've done that already,
Or didn't you know, love?
Tell me, how could I leave
When I left long ago, love?

Could I leave you?
No, the point is, could you leave me?
Well, I guess you could leave me the house,
Leave me the flat,
Leave me the Braques and Chagalls and all that.
You could leave me the stocks for sentiment's sake
And ninety percent of the money you make.
And the rugs
And the cooks
Darling, you keep the drugs.
Angel, you keep the books,
Honey, I'll take the grand,
Sugar you keep the spinet
And all of our friends and
Just wait a goddam minute!

Oh, leave you? Leave you?
How could I leave you?
Sweetheart, I have to confess:
Could I leave you?
Yes.

Will I leave you?
Will I leave you?
Guess!



Loveland


ENSEMBLE
Time stops, hearts are young,
Only serenades are sung
In Loveland,
Where everybody lives co love.
Raindrops never rain,
Every road is Lovers' Lane
In Loveland,
Where everybody loves to live.
See that sunny sun and honeymoon,
There where seven hundred days hath June.
Sweetheart, take my hand,
Let us find that wondrous land
Called Loveland, Loveland, Loveland...


FIRST CAVALIER
The lover is transported by his rapture,
As ever heavenwards his heart ascends.


CHORUS
Loveland, where everybody lives to love.


SECOND CAVALIER
The lover's heart contains a lover's secret.
Which only the beloved comprehends.


CHORUS
Loveland, where everybody loves to live.


THIRD CAVALIER
To lover's eyes, a lover's eyes are jewels,
More radiant than the stars that light the sky.


CHORUS
Loveland, Loveland...


FOURTH CAVALIER
Two lovers in devotion,
If separated, they must swoon and die.


CHORUS
Loveland, Loveland...
Bells ring, fountains splash,
Folks use kisses 'stead of cash
In Loveland. Loveland...
Love, Love, Loveland...
Love, Love, Loveland...
Love!



You're Gonna Love Tomorrow - Love Will See Us Through


YOUNG BEN
"What will tomorrow bring?"
The pundits query.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Will it be cheery?


YOUNG BEN
Will it be sad?


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Will it be birds in spring
Or hara-kiri?


YOUNG BEN
Don't worry, dearie.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Don't worry, lad.


YOUNG BEN
I'll have our future suit your whim,
Blue chip preferred.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Putting it in a synonym,
Prefect's the word.


YOUNG PHYLLIS & YOUNG BEN
We're in this thing together,
Aren'tcha glad?
Each day from now will be
The best day you ever had.


YOUNG BEN
You're gonna love tomorrow.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Mm-hm.


YOUNG BEN
You're gonna be with me.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Mm-hm.


YOUNG BEN
You're gonna love tomorrow,
I'm giving you my personal guarantee.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Say toodle-oo to sorrow


YOUNG BEN
Mm-hm.


YOUNG PHYLLIS
And fare thee well, ennui.


YOUNG BEN
Bye-bye


YOUNG PHYLLIS
You're gonna love tomorrow
As long as your tomorrow is spent with me.


YOUNG PHYLLIS & YOUNG BEN
Today was perfectly perfect.
You say.
Well, don't go away,
'Cause if you think you liked today.
You're gonna lore tomorrow.
Mm-hm.
You stick around and see.
Mm-hm.
And if you love tomorrow.
Then think of how it's gonna be
Tomorrow's what you're gonna have a lifetime of
With me!


YOUNG BUDDY
Sally, dear,
Now that we're
Man and wife,
I will do
Wonders to
Make your life
Soul-stirring
And free of care.


YOUNG SALLY
If we fight
And we might,
I'll concede.
Furthermore,
Dear, should your
Ego need
Bolstering.
I'll do my share.


YOUNG BUDDY
But though I'll do my utmost
To see you never frown,


YOUNG SALLY
And though I'll try to cut most
Of our expenses down.


YOUNG BUDDY
I've some traits, I warn you,
To which you'll have objections.


YOUNG SALLY
I, too, have a cornu-
Copia of imperfections.

I may burn the toast.


YOUNG BUDDY
Oh, well,
I may make a rotten host.

YOUNG SALLY
Do tell.

YOUNG SALLY & YOUNG BUDDY
But no matter what goes wrong.
Love will see us through
Till something better comes along.


YOUNG BUDDY
I may vex your folks.


YOUNG SALLY
Okay


YOUNG BUDDY
I may interrupt your jokes.


YOUNG SALLY
You may.


YOUNG SALLY & YOUNG BUDDY
But if I come on too strong,
Love will see us through
Till something better comes along.


YOUNG BUDDY
I may play cards all night
And come home at three.


YOUNG SALLY
Just leave a light
On the porch for me.


YOUNG SALLY & YOUNG BUDDY
Well, nobody's perfect


YOUNG SALLY
Hi


YOUNG BUDDY
Girls


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Ben


YOUNG BUDDY
Sally

The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues


BUDDY
Hello, folks, we're into the Follies!
First, though, folks, we'll pause for a mo'.
No, no, folks, you'll still get your jollies
It's just I got a problem that I think you should know.

See, I've been very perturbed of late, very upset,
Very betwixt and between.
The things that I want, I don't seem to get.
The things that I get, you know what I mean!

I've got those
"God-why-don't-you-love-me-oh-you-do-I'll-see-you-later"
Blues,
That
"Long-as-you-ignore-me-you're-the-only-thing-that-matters"
Feelin,
That
"If-I'm-good-enough-for-you-you're-not-good-enough"
and, "Thank-you-for-the-present-but-what's-wrong-with-It?"
Stuff,
Those
"Don't-come-any-closer-'cause-you-know-how-much-I-love-you"
Feelings,
Those
"Tell-me-that-you-love-me-oh-you-did-I-gotta-run-now"
Blues.

Margie...? Margie...?

She says she really loves me.


"MARGIE"
I love you


BUDDY
-she says.
She says she really cares.


"MARGIE"
I care, I care.


BUDDY
She says that I'm her hero.


"MARGIE"
My hero


BUDDY
-she says.
I'm perfect, she swears.


"MARGIE"
You're perfect, goddamit.


BUDDY
She says that if we parted


"MARGIE"
If we parted


BUDDY
-she says.
She says that she'd be sick.


"MARGIE"
Bleh...


BUDDY
She says she's mine forever


"MARGIE"
Forever


BUDDY
-she says.
I gotta get outta here quick!

I've got those
"God-why-don't-you-love-me-oh-you-do-I'll-see-you-later"
Blues
That
"Long-as-you-ignore-me-you're-the-only-thing-that-matters"
Feeling
That
"If-I'm-good-enough-for-you-you're-not-good-enough"
And
"Thank-you-for-the-present-but-what's-wrong-with-it?"
Stuff
Those
"Don't-come-any-closer-'cause-you-know-how-much-I-love-you"
Feelings
Those
"Tell-me-that-you-love-me-oh-you-did-I-gotta-run-now"
Blues

Sally...? Sally...?
She says she loves another-


"SALLY"
Another


BUDDY
-she says,
A fella she prefers.


"SALLY"
Furs. Furs.


BUDDY
She says that he's her idol.


"SALLY"
Idolidolidolidol


BUDDY
-she says.
Ideal, she avers.


"SALLY"
You deal... "Avers"?


BUDDY
She says that anybody-


"SALLY"
Buddy-bleah!


BUDDY
-she says,
Would suit her more than I.


"SALLY"
Aye, aye, aye.


BUDDY
She says that I'm a washout


"SALLY"
Washout


BUDDY
-she says.
I love her so much, I could die!


"SALLY"
Get outta here!


BUDDY
I've got those
"Whisper-how-I'm-better-than-I-think-but-what-do-you-know?"
Blues


"GIRLS"
Blah blah blues!


BUDDY
That
"Why-do-you-keep-telling-me-I-stink-when-I-adore-you?"
Feeling.


"GIRLS"
Feeling!


BUDDY
That
"Say-I'm-all-the-world-to-you-you're-out-of-your-mind-
I-know-there's-someone-else-and-I-could-kiss-you-behind,"
Those
"You-say-I'm-terrific-but-your-taste-was-always-rotten"
Feelings,


"GIRLS"
Blah blah blues!


BUDDY
Those
"Go-away-I-need-you,"
"Come-to-me-I'll-kill-you,"
"Darling-I'll-do-anything-to-keep-you-with-me-till-you-
Tell-me-that-you-love-me-oh-you-did-now-beat-it-will-you?"
Blues!


"GIRLS"
Ooh!



Losing My Mind


SALLY
The sun comes up,
I think about you.
The coffee cup,
I think about you.
I want you so,
It's like I'm losing my mind.

The morning ends,
I think about you.
I talk to friends,
I think about you.
And do they know?
It's like I'm losing my mind.

All afternoon,
Doing every little chore,
The thought of you stays bright.
Sometimes I stand
In the middle of the floor,
Not going left,
Not going right.

I dim the lights
And think about you,
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you.
You said you loved me,
Or were you just being kind?
Or am I losing my mind?

I want you so,
It's like I'm losing my mind.
Does no one know?
It's like I'm losing my mind.

All afternoon,
Doing every little chore,
The thought of you stays bright.
Sometimes I stand
In the middle of the floor,
Not going left,
Not going right.

I dim the lights
And think about you,
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you.
You said you loved me,
Or were you just being kind?
Or am I losing my mind?



The Story Of Lucy And Jessie


PHYLLIS
Here's a little story that should make you cry,
About two unhappy dames.
Let us call them Lucy "X" and Jessie "Y",
Which are not their real names.

Now Lucy has the purity
Along with the unsurety
That comes with being only twenty-one.
Jessie has maturity
And plenty of security.
Whatever you can do with them she's done.

Given their advantages,
You may ask why
The two ladies have such grief
This is my belief,
In brief:

Lucy is juicy
But terribly drab.
Jessie is dressy
But cold as a slab.

Lucy wants to be dressy.
Jessie wants to be juicy.
Lucy wants to be Jessie
And Jessie Lucy.

You see, Jessie is racy
But hard as a rock.
Lucy is lacy
But dull as a smock.

Jessie wants to be lacy,
Lucy wants to be Jessie.
That's the sorrowful précis.
It's very messy.

Poor sad souls,
Itching to be switching roles.
Lucy wants to do what Jessie does,
Jessie wants to be what Lucy was.


CHORUS
Now if you see Lucy "X,"
Youthful, truthful Lucy "X,"
Let her know she's better than she suspects.
Now if you see Jessie "Y,"
Faded, jaded Jessie "Y"
Tell her that she's sweller than apple pie.
Juicy Lucy.
Dressy Jessie.
Juicy Lucy,
Dressy Jessie...


PHYLLIS
Lucy's a lassie
You pat on the head.
Jessie is classy
But virtually dead.
Lucy wants to be classy.
Jessie wants to be Lassie.
If Lucy and Jessie could only combine,
I could tell you someone
Who would finally feel just fine!


CHORUS:
Juicy Lucy...


PHYLLIS:
Just fine!


CHORUS:
Dressy Jessie...


PHYLLIS:
Just fine!


CHORUS:
Juicy Lucy...


PHYLLIS:
Just fine!


CHORUS:
Dressy Jessie...


ALL:
Tell 'em that they ought to get together quick,
'Cause getting it together is the whole trick!


PHYLLIS:
Yeah!



Live, Laught, Love


CHORUS
Here he comes.
Mister Whiz.
Sound the drums,
Here he is.
Raconteur,
Bon vivant.
Tell us, sir,
What we want
To know:
The modus operandi
A dandy
Should use
When he is feeling low.


BEN
When the winds are blowing.


CHORUS
Yes?


BEN
That's the time to smile.


CHORUS
Oh!


BEN
Learn how to laugh.
Learn how to love.
Learn how to live.
That's my style.
When the rent is owing,


CHORUS
Yes?


BEN
What's the use of tears!


CHORUS
Oh!


BEN
I'd rather laugh,
I'd rather love.
I'd rather live
In arrears.

Some fellows sweat
To get to be millionaires,
Some have a sport
They're devotees of,
Some like to be the champs
At saving postage stamps.

Me, I like to live.
Me, I like to laugh,
Me, I like to love.

Some like to sink
And think in their easy chairs
Of all the things
They've risen above.
Some like to be profound
By reading Proust and Pound.

Me, I like to live.
Me, I like to laugh,
Me, I like to love.

Success is swell
And success is sweet,
But every height has a drop.
The less achievement,
The less defeat.
What's the point of shovin'
Your way to the top?
Live 'n' laugh 'n' love 'n'
You're never a flop.
So when the walls are crumbling,


CHORUS
Yes?


BEN
Don't give up the ship.


CHORUS
No.


BEN
Learn how to laugh,
Learn how to love.
Learn how to live.
That's my tip.
When I hear the rumbling,


CHORUS
Yes?


BEN
Do I lose my grip?


CHORUS
No!


BEN
I have to laugh,
I have to love.
I have to live.
That's my trip.


ALL
When the wind is blowing,
That's the time to smile.
When the rent is owing,
Never lose your style.


BEN
Some get a boot
From shooting off cablegrams
Or buzzing bells
To summon the staff.

Some climbers get their kicks
From social politics.
Me, I like to live.
Me. I like to love...

Some break their asses
Passing their bar exams.
Lay out their lives
Like lines on a graph...

One day they're diplomats
Well, bully and congrats!
Me, I like to live,
Me, I like to love...

Stop!
Stop!



CHORUS
Success is well
And success is sweet,
But every height has a drop.
The less achievement,
The less defeat.
What's the point of shovin'
Your war to the top!



CHORUS
Now, if you see Lucy "X,"
Youthful, truthful Lucy "X,"
Let her know she's better than she suspects.
Now if you see Jessie "Y," etc.


BEN
Phyllis!



Finale


YOUNG BUDDY
Hey. up there!


YOUNG BEN
Way up there!


BOTH
Whaddaya say. up there!


YOUNG SALLY
Hi...


YOUNG BEN
Girls...


YOUNG PHYLLIS
Ben...


YOUNG BUDDY
Sally...


BUDDY
Waiting around for the girls upstairs
After the curtain came down.


BEN
Money in my pocket to spend.


BOTH
"Honey, could you maybe get a friend for my friend?"


SALLY
Holding our ground for the boys below,
Fussing around with our hair.


PHYLLIS
Giggling, wriggling out of our tights,


BOTH
Chattering and clattering down all of those flights-


ALL FOUR
God, I'd forgotten there ever were nights
Of waiting for the girls,
Waiting for the girls,
Waiting for the girls,
Waiting for the girls,
Waiting for the girls
Upstairs.


COMPANY
Hats off,
Here's the home of
Beautiful girls,
Where your
Reason is undone.
Beauty
Can't be hindered
From taking its toll.
You may lose control.
Faced with these Loreleis.
What man con moralize!
Caution,
On your guard with
Beautiful girls.
Flawless charmers
Every one.
This is how Samson was shorn;
Each in her style a
Delilah
Reborn,
Each a gem.
A beautiful diadem
Of beautiful--welcome them--


ROSCOE
These beautiful


COMPANY
Girls!