FIRST LADY, THE

from 1962 New York musical "Mr President"


(Irving Berlin 1962)

As recorded by Kaye Ballard & Perry Como
with The Ray Charles Singers
and Mitchell Ayres & his Orchestra
1962


(rcs)
She's the first lady,
She's the first lady,
She's the first lady of the land!

(pc)
She might have been a teacher,
A job that she'd adore,
She might have been a housewife,
A wife and nothing more.
She might have been an actress
Who might have played Broadway,
(kb)
But my husband had to be president!
(pc)
Hmmm!
(kb)
And what am I today!

I'm the first lady of the land,
The first lady of the land.
Standing on a receiving line,
Winding up with an aching spine,
Calluses on my receiving hand,
As the first lady of the land!

For every week a different hairdo,
Which means another dress.
Those meetings with committees,
And sparring with the press.
Those dreary formal dinners
When I stay up till dawn,
Counting all the silver
When the guests have gone!

When they march out in single file,
And I must smile, smile, smile!
I'd rather be the second
Or the third or the fourth
Or the fifth or the sixth
Or the seventh instead
Of the first lady of the land!

I'm the first lady of the land,
The first lady of the land.
Entertaining at lunch or tea,
Do-do-gooders who call on me,
Telling of the noble deeds they've planned
For the first lady of the land!

And oh, the presents that they send me,
An awful lot of junk!
An unhousebroken poodle,
A dehydrated skunk,
A turkey for Thanksgiving,
Potaters in a sack!
But when they send me a diamond,
I must send it back!

When the whole cabinet arrives,
And bring their wives, wives, wives!
I'd rather be the second
Or the third or the fourth
Or the fifth or the sixth
Or the seventh instead
Of the first lady of the land!




(Transcribed by Peter Akers - February 2017)