MANHATTAN DOWNBEAT
From the film "The Barkleys Of Broadway" (1949)
(Harry Warren / Ira Gershwin)
Fred Astaire - 1949
 
 
Tempo, you know that good old tempo:

Just give me that Manhattan Downbeat
That beats a tempo of its own;
You've got to shout, "This is it!"
The day you visit
The jumpinest town has ever been known.
Keep your Paree and London town beat
Up with your 'bockers stands alone;
Drive up any avenue, swing down any street,
No beat has Manhattan Downbeat beat!

Manhattan has a beat that's all its own,
Manhattan has a beat to call its own.
So, Mister Leader, when you give the band the downbeat,
A one, two, three;

And give 'em that Manhattan Downbeat
That beats a tempo of its own;
You've got to shout, "This is it!"
The day you visit
The jumpinest town has ever been known.
Keep your Paree and London town beat
Up with your 'bockers stands alone;
Drive up any avenue, swing down any street,
No beat has Manhattan Downbeat
No beat has Manhattan Downbeat
No beat has Manhattan Downbeat beat!