You'd Be Surprised

Last updated
"You'd Be Surprised"
Okeh4042.jpg
You'd Be Surprised
Composition by Irving Berlin
Written1919
Songwriter(s) Irving Berlin

"You'd Be Surprised" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919 which Eddie Cantor interpolated it into Ziegfeld's Follies of 1919. [1] Cantor soon recorded it and it became a major hit. Other popular versions in 1920 were by the All-Star Trio and by Irving Kaufman. [2]

Contents

Lyrics

The first verse introduces the shy Johnny and the woman Mary who finds him to be an exceptional lover, although apparently no one else ever has. She explains his appeal in the first chorus. By the second verse, Mary's talking-up of Johnny has resulted in him now being very popular with the ladies. The song leaves any questions about Mary's status unanswered.

The first chorus mentions the Morris Chair, made popular in America by furniture maker Gustav Stickley.

Part of first verse:

Johnny was bashful and shy;
Nobody understood why
Mary loved him
All the other girls passed him by.
Everyone wanted to know
How she could pick such a beau
With a twinkle in her eye
She made this reply

Parts of various choruses:

He's not so good in a crowd
But when you get him alone
You'd be surprised;
He's kind of scared in a mob
But when he takes you home
You'd be surprised.
He won't impress you
Right from the start
But in a week or two
You'd be surprised.
At a party or a ball
I've got to admit he's nothing at all
But in a Morris chair
You'd be surprised

Part of second verse:

Mary continued to praise
Johnny's remarkable ways
To the ladies
And you know advertising pays
Now Johnny's ne'er alone
He has the busiest phone
Almost every other day
A new girl will say

Cover versions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burl Ives</span> American musician and actor (1909–1995)

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American musician, singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades.

<i>Blue Skies</i> (1946 film) 1946 American musical comedy film

Blue Skies is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Joan Caulfield. Based on a story by Irving Berlin, the film is about a dancer who loves a showgirl who loves a compulsive nightclub-opener who can't stay committed to anything in life for very long. Produced by Sol C. Siegel, Blue Skies was filmed in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. The music, lyrics, and story were written by Irving Berlin, with most of the songs recycled from earlier works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree</span> 1905 song written by Harry Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne

In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree is a popular song dating from 1905. It was written by Harry Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne (music). Popular recordings in 1905 were by Henry Burr; Albert Campbell; Haydn Quartet; and by Arthur Pryor's Band. Other recordings were by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and The Mills Brothers and Alma Cogan (1962). Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album On the Sentimental Side (1962).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pretty Baby (Tony Jackson song)</span> Song written by Tony Jackson

"Pretty Baby" is a song written by Tony Jackson during the Ragtime era. The song was remembered as being prominent in Jackson's repertory before he left New Orleans in 1912, but was not published until 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Alone (Irving Berlin song)</span> Song

"All Alone" is a popular waltz ballad composed by Irving Berlin in 1924. It was interpolated into the Broadway show The Music Box Revue of 1924 where it was sung by Grace Moore and Oscar Shaw. Moore sat at one end of the stage under a tightly focused spotlight, singing it into a telephone, while Oscar Shaw sat at the other, doing the same.

"Heat Wave" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, and introduced in the show by Ethel Waters.

"Charley, My Boy" is a song with music by Ted Fio Rito and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The Russo-FioRito Oriole Orchestra introduced the song in 1924. The most popular recording was released by Eddie Cantor. The sheet music was published for voice and piano by Irving Berlin Inc., and in Australia by J. Albert & Son.

"Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee" is a song by Irving Berlin appearing in the musical comedy Face the Music, which opened in 1932. On opening night it was sung by J. Harold Murray and Katherine Carrington. The song, set in a self-service restaurant modeled on the Horn & Hardart Automat, is sung in the play by a group of once-wealthy citizens who were awaiting better times, as mirrored in the song's opening lyrics:

"Isn't This a Lovely Day?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1935 film Top Hat, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire in the scene where his and Ginger Rogers' characters are caught in a gazebo during a rainstorm. The lyric is an example of a song which turns a bad situation into a love song, a common style for Irving Berlin, as in "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee".

"Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" is a popular song, published in 1925, written by Benny Davis, Joe Burke, and Mark Fisher. Popular recordings of the song in 1925 were by Ben Selvin, Benson Orchestra of Chicago, Lewis James and Irving Kaufman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remember (Irving Berlin song)</span> 1925 song by Irving Berlin

"Remember" is a popular song about nostalgia by Irving Berlin, published in 1925. The song is a popular standard, recorded by numerous artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want to Go Back to Michigan</span>

I Want to Go Back to Michigan is a song by Irving Berlin composed in 1914. It was a moderate commercial success when it was first released with popular versions by Elida Morris and by Morton Harvey. Afterwards it became a staple in vaudeville. Its most famous performance was by Judy Garland in the film Easter Parade.

"Cabaret" is the title song of the 1966 musical of the same name, sung by the character Sally Bowles. It was composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now</span>

"I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" is a popular song written in 1919 by Irving Berlin. It was published by Music Publishers Inc. in New York, New York.

"It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin'" is a song written and recorded by Johnny Tillotson, which was a major hit for him in 1962. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Country & Western song for 1962 but lost to Burl Ives' Funny Way Of Laughing. It has been recorded by many other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)</span> 1949 Christmas song by Johnny Marks

"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a song by songwriter Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer published by the Montgomery Ward Company. Gene Autry's recording hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.

"The Moon of Manakoora" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser (lyrics) and Alfred Newman (music) for the 1937 Paramount film The Hurricane starring Dorothy Lamour. Lamour sang the song in the film and also made a commercial recording of it. The song "The Moon of Manakoora" is considered a standard and was Loesser's first success as a lyric writer.

The Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 was a revue produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Billed as the thirteenth edition of the Ziegfeld Follies series, it had a tryout at Nixon's Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 10, 1919 and opened at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre on June 16, 1919 and closed on December 6, 1919. It is often considered to be the best and most successful of the Follies series produced by Ziegfeld.

"I Never Had A Chance" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin, published in 1934. Popular versions that year were by Eddy Duchin and by Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration</span> Television concert special

Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration was a concert special held in his honor at Carnegie Hall on May 11, 1988. It was aired on CBS television two weeks later, on May 27. At the 40th annual Emmy Awards later that summer, on August 28, it won two Emmys for outstanding variety, music or comedy program. Berlin himself did not attend, as he had retired from public life.

References

  1. Bergreen, Laurence (1990). As Thousands Cheer. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p. 171. ISBN   0-340-53486-9.
  2. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 617. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  3. "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  4. "The Definitive Hoosier Hotshots Collection - H... | AllMusic" via www.allmusic.com.
  5. "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  6. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  7. Kathy Linden, "You'd Be Surprised" chart position Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  8. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  9. "AllMusic | Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands". AllMusic.