I've stood on breadlines With the bestWatched while the headlinesDid the restIn the Depression, was I depressed?Nowhere near.I met a big financierAnd I'm here. The clever song “Chop Suey” lays out a list of cultural adjustments facing those seeking U.S. My ultimate achievement? A list of songs about lists?ĪpMy ultimate achievement? A list of songs about lists?Ī bunch of Broadway songs List songs show up in a bunch of other Broadway musicals, too, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1958 "Flower Drum Song," which deals with some of the assimilation challenges faced by Chinese immigrants. “American Pie,” of course, Don McLean’s take on some of the major events of baby-boomers’ lives.states (including Mini-soda).Īnd there are several in rock music, too: “Delaware,” his silly roll call of many U.S.And “Sesame Street” does it up nicely, too. “A - You’re Adorable (The Alphabet Song),” with the help of the Fontane Sisters, a letter-by-letter bouquet of compliments.Perry Como, the classic crooner, is good for a couple of list songs, too: ![]() Stritch does a fine job, too, with another Sondheim classic, “I’m Still Here,” from 1971’s “Follies.” The wonderful lyrics catalog the adventures (and misadventures) of a seasoned survivor, a former “Ziegfeld Girl.” A sample:Įartha Kitt also does a great version of the song here, and then Shirley MacLaine wows ’em all with updated lyrics in this scene from the 1990 film “Postcards From the Edge.” citizenship.Īnd my favorite Broadway composer, Stephen Sondheim, is good for two list songs himself, both of them performed here by the remarkable Elaine Stritch. She introduced the first show-stopper, “The Ladies Who Lunch,” in Sondheim’s 1970 “Company.” She downs drinks as she sings, offering a slightly tipsy toast to a wide array of New York women she’s encountered and cattily point out all their flaws (including her own). List songs show up in a bunch of other Broadway musicals, too, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1958 “Flower Drum Song,” which deals with some of the assimilation challenges faced by Chinese immigrants. landmarks as the National Gallery and Boulder (now Hoover) Dam. ![]() They’ve been popular since at least 1934, when Ethel Merman and William Gaxton introduced Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top” (sung here by the composer himself) in Broadway’s “Anything Goes.” The song’s list of top-flight comparisons spans the globe - from the “steppes of Russia” through France (the Louvre and “Mona Lisa”), Italy (the Coliseum and Tower of Pisa) and Holland (Zuider Zee) to such U.S. “List songs” come in many shapes and sizes, but several of them are among the best-known American songs. What can I say? It seemed a natural for a list-maker like me. Believe it or not, the list I’ve been working on the longest is this one: a list of songs that contain lists.
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