Sing You Sinners Composer(s): W. Franke Harling; Sam Coslow First performance/First recording by: Lillian Roth; The Harlem Hot Chocolates - 1930/1929 Covered by multiple other artists
Once a mockingbird - he was overheard singing out a word - to a cattle herd 'All you bovine creatures - dig what I'm layin' down!
All you sinners drop everything Everything Let the melody and the harmony ring Let it ring Lift arms up to Heaven and sing Ring-a-ding Sing you sinners, won't you sway & swing What a thing
Start with clapping' y'hands all about All about Don't be silent - Let the Lord hear y'shout Shout it out And just let the music come out Of yer snout Sing you sinners, wontcha' sway & swing Check it out Dig the drift of what I mean
In a world where there's no music - Old Scratch Satan gets his kicks - He's up to his tricks He'll be laughing up & down the banks - He, He, He! Of that River Styx
You're so wicked, baby, and you're depraved You can rave It's apparent that you have mis-behaved To your grave But if you should want to be saved Jus' behave Take a listen now to the bird . . .
Stop all that chewin' yer cud - and all that standin' in the mud there Swing, people! Swing every chortle from yer mortal portal I dig that everyone believes that cattle prodigies are like a sneeze hard blowin', missin one lick of blowin' talent to show If you sing, you gotta swing
Just remember that the day will come when you will just be steak on a plate Folk, you know it's fate! So dig the music of the swing-o-sphere - before yer swing arrives too late
That's a little too dark Still, it is true, we've got breath for such a limited time What are ya', stupid? You cows - you'd think to sing was a crime
In defence now, hence now, here comes Adele McCluck
Mrs. Mockingbird, I must say, you haven't heard the friendly bellowing swing of our friends the cows as they shed their way from Teagarden to Fuller Instead of spendin' every day just sneakin' around to lift another lick - These cats work on their cow-tone so when they get up to blow a fatter bone-tone into the ozone And, furthermore
You tweety birds are always singin' away - never givin' up a thought of what you say We cows do - shedding takes up most of our day So when we start & settle in to play we can say A moo is an array of what cows have always known as the best and only way to play
What we mean to say is Before the band will let you sing Sing with Fletcher Henderson You'd better get yourself to swing Like the Bean or Satch So your horn can blow a single note or two of deeper thinking That's the way to swing So set your mind upon a tone When you're sheddin' all alone And you will have a cornerstone Like the bass trombone Blow your horn and take a bow So that you're swingin' like the cows Pythagoras would be so proud of us
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