To Keep My Love Alive

Last updated
"To Keep My Love Alive"
Song
Published1943
Songwriter(s) Lorenz Hart
Composer(s) Richard Rodgers

"To Keep My Love Alive" is a 1943 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1943 revival of the 1927 musical A Connecticut Yankee, where it was introduced by Vivienne Segal. It was written especially for Segal. [1] It was the last song that Hart wrote before his death from pneumonia.

Contents

The song outlines the many ways the singer "bumped off" her fifteen husbands in order to avoid being unfaithful to any of them. Some of her methods are arsenic poisoning, stabbing and appendectomy.

Lyrics

I've been married, and married, and often I've sighed,
"I'm never a bridesmaid, I'm always a bride."
I never divorced them—I hadn't the heart--
Yet remember these sweet words: "'Til death do us part..."

First stanza

I married many men, a ton of them,
And yet I was untrue to none of them,
Because I bumped off every one of them
To keep my love alive.

Sir Paul was frail; he looked a wreck to me.
At night he was a horse's neck to me,
So I performed an appendectomy
To keep my love alive.

Sir Thomas had insomnia: he couldn't sleep at night.
I bought a little arsenic; he's sleeping now all right.

Sir Roger played the harp; I cussed the thing.
I crowned him with his harp to bust the thing,
And now he plays where harps are just the thing,
To keep my love alive,
To keep my love alive!

Second stanza

I thought Sir George had possibilities,
But his flirtations made me ill at ease,
And when I'm ill at ease, I kill at ease,
To keep my love alive

Sir Charles came from a sanatorium
And yelled for drinks in my emporium.
I mixed one drink; he's in memoriam,
To keep my love alive

Sir Percy was a singing bird, a nightingale, that's why
I tossed him off my balcony to see if he could fly.

Sir Jonathan indulged in fratricide;
He killed his dad and that was patricide.
One night I stabbed him at my mattress-side
To keep my love alive,
To keep my love alive!

Third stanza

I caught Sir James with his protectoress:
The rector’s wife, I mean the rectoress.
His heart stood still: angina pectoris,
To keep my love alive.

Sir Frank brought ladies to my palaces.
I poured a mickey in their chalices:
While paralyzed, they got paralysis,
To keep my love alive.

Sir Alfred worshipped falconry; he used to hunt at will.
I sent him on a hunting trip: They’re hunting for him still.

Sir Peter had an incongruity:
Collecting girls with promiscuity.
Now I’m collecting his annuity,
To keep my love alive,
To keep my love alive!

Fourth stanza

Sir Ethelbert would use profanity;
His language drove me near insanity.
So once again I served humanity,
To keep my love alive.

Sir Curtis made me cook each dish he ate,
And everything his heart could wish he ate,
Until I fiddled with a fish he ate,
To keep my love alive.

Sir Marmaduke was awfully tall; he didn’t fit in bed.
I solved that problem easily: I just removed his head.

Sir Marc adored me with formality;
He called a kiss an immorality.
And so I gave him immortality,
To keep my love alive,
To keep my love alive!

Notable recordings

Related Research Articles

Richard Rodgers American composer of songs and Broadway musicals

Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer, known largely for his work in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant impact on popular music.

Lorenz Hart American lyricist

Lorenz Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon", "The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", and "My Funny Valentine".

Rodgers and Hart

Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's death in 1943.

"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed by over 600 artists. One of them was Chet Baker, for whom it became his signature song. In 2015, it was announced that the Gerry Mulligan quartet featuring Chet Baker's version of the song was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for the song's "cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy". Mulligan also recorded the song with his Concert Jazz Band in 1960.

<i>A Connecticut Yankee</i> (musical)

A Connecticut Yankee is a musical based on the 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by American writer Mark Twain. Like most adaptations of the Twain novel, it focuses on the lighter aspects of the story. The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book by Herbert Fields. It was produced by Lew Fields and Lyle D. Andrews. It enjoyed an original run on Broadway in 1927 of 421 performances and a number of revivals.

<i>Close to You</i> (Frank Sinatra album) 1957 studio album by Frank Sinatra

Close to You is the eleventh studio album by American musician Frank Sinatra, accompanied by the Hollywood String Quartet.

<i>Songs for Young Lovers</i> 1954 studio album by Frank Sinatra

Songs for Young Lovers is the seventh studio album by Frank Sinatra and his first on Capitol Records. It was issued as an 8-song, 10" album and as a 45rpm EP set, but it was the first Sinatra "album" not to have a 78rpm multi-disc-album release. In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

Vivienne Segal American actress and singer

Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American actress and singer.

<i>Ella at Juan-Les-Pins</i> 1964 live album by Ella Fitzgerald

Ella at Juan-les-Pins is a 1964 live album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a quartet led by Roy Eldridge on trumpet with the pianist Tommy Flanagan, Gus Johnson on drums and Bill Yancey on bass. Val Valentin was the recording engineer, Cover photo by Jean-Pierre Leloir. The original 1964 album featured 12 songs, highlights of two concerts Fitzgerald performed on the 28 and 29 of July 1964 at the fifth annual Festival Mondial du Jazz Antibes in Juan-les-Pins, France. In 2002 Verve re-issued this album, including all the performances from both evenings. Ella is in fine voice, sounding very aggressive at times, as her voice leaps and growls. The listener also gets to hear Ella improvise a musical tribute to the crickets who are also in fine voice throughout the performance.

<i>The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books</i> 1994 compilation album by Ella Fitzgerald

The Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos.

<i>Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book</i> 1959 box set by Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book is a box set by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald that contains songs by George and Ira Gershwin with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. It was produced by Norman Granz, Fitzgerald's manager and the founder of Verve Records. Fifty-nine songs were recorded in the span of eight months in 1959.

<i>Pal Joey</i> (musical)

Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The musical is based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker, which he later published in novel form. The title character, Joey Evans, is a manipulative small-time nightclub performer whose ambitions lead him into an affair with the wealthy, middle-aged and married Vera Simpson. It includes two songs that have become standards: "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".

<i>A Breath of Scandal</i> 1960 film

A Breath of Scandal is a 1960 film adapted from Ferenc Molnár's stage play Olympia. It stars Sophia Loren, Maurice Chevalier, John Gavin and Angela Lansbury and was directed by Michael Curtiz. The film is set at the turn of the 20th century and features lush technicolor photography of Vienna and the countryside of Austria. The costumes and lighting were designed by George Hoyningen-Huene and executed by Ella Bei of the Knize fashion house (Austria). In part because Loren was at odds with Curtiz's direction, Italian director Vittorio De Sica was hired to reshoot certain scenes with Loren after hours without Curtiz's knowledge.

"Little Girl Blue" is a popular song with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Gloria Grafton in the Broadway musical Jumbo.

"My Heart Stood Still" is a 1927 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written for the Charles Cochran revue One Dam Thing after Another which opened in London at the London Pavilion on May 19, 1927. The show starred Jessie Matthews, Douglas Byng, Lance Lister, Richard Dolman and ran for 237 performances.

"Spring is Here" is a 1938 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical I Married an Angel (1938), where it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal.

<i>Sarah Vaughan Sings Broadway: Great Songs from Hit Shows</i> 1958 studio album by Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan Sings Broadway: Great Songs from Hit Shows is a 1958 studio album by Sarah Vaughan.

<i>When Harry Met Sally...</i> (soundtrack) 1989 soundtrack album by Harry Connick Jr.

When Harry Met Sally... is the soundtrack to the movie When Harry Met Sally... starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. The songs are performed by pianist Harry Connick Jr., who won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance.

<i>Twelve Nights in Hollywood</i> 2009 live album by Ella Fitzgerald

Twelve Nights in Hollywood is a 2009 live album by the American jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, recorded at the Crescendo Club in Hollywood, Los Angeles over ten nights in May 1961, and a subsequent pair of performances in June 1962.

<i>Welcome to My Love</i> 1968 studio album by Nancy Wilson

Welcome to My Love is a 1968 studio album by Nancy Wilson, arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson.

References