FOUR BROTHERS
(Jimmy Giuffre (m) Jon Hendricks (l) 1947)

recorded by
Woody Herman's Second Herd 1947
Jimmy Giuffre 1955  1958
Anita O'Day w Marty Paich & his Orchestra 1958
Marian McPartland 1959
The King Sisters 1950's 7 1960's
The Manhattan Transfer 1978
Jon Hendricks & The Dave Lambert Chorus 1955
Manhattan Transfer


as recorded by The Manhattan Transfer

Take a seat and cool it, 'cause unless you over-rule it,
We are ready to show you some blowin';
A rompin' and a stompin' is a lot of fun, four brothers who are blowin' our horn.
Settle down and listen 'cause you don't know what you're missin'
And we're ready to give you a showin';
A-movin' it 'n' a-groovin' it has just begun,
Four brothers who are blowin' our horn!

We got a little message that you're gonna enjoy, ain't no sense in dodgin' the facts!
So settle in your easy chair and if you ever had a care, forget it it's time to relax!
We might as well admit it, we're the best that ever did it,
But in case you ain't too sure o' knowin',
We're gonna let you listen to us one by one,
Four brothers who are blowin' our horn!

Howd'ya do!  I'm talkin' 'bout you, it's very nice to know
That you have really taken time to listen to me blow,
'Cause as sure as I'm born I'm blowin' my horn!
My baby I'm blowin', zootin' it up,
I kinda hope you dig the sounds I'm makin' more 'n any other;
Now I must go for it's time for you to listen to my other brother.

I think the chick's talkin' 'bout me, so I'd better go 'n' see,
I'm hip that she knows a horn is very best to greet you,
That's the reason I'm blowin' so snappily!
I don't know what ya got, but it thrills me an' I hope you have a lot,
'Cause it puts me in clover!
So baby, if you would like to dig my other brother,
You're gonna have to turn the record over!

Hey hey hey, who ya talkin' about?  Say who ya talkin' about!
Did I hear you say you'd introduce your other brother?
'Cause in case I heard you talkin' about three, that's me!
Pleased to meet you, how'd you do, how are you?  Nothin's new,
How is everything with you?
What do you say, I leave this jazz up to my brother!

Dig dig dig my Long Island sound, hope you're puttin' it down,
You got me in a mood that's so romantic!
If you notice you can dig this silly old actin'
'Cause I'm actin' so romantic when I dig you.
Pretty baby, you will never know how much I really dig you!
You have got me so excited that I goofed blowin' my horn!

Bop, the news is gettin' around, we're really puttin' it down,
We're glad, in fact, to know that you enjoy it 
And we wish we had the time to give you more, thankyou for the compliment.
You told us we were better, just as though we didn't know it,
We're hip that we're the best, we're over all the rest!
We're in the modern school, we always play it cool, we never play the fool!
The honkers and the squeakers might be stealin' the show,
But we don't go for that, so while we blow.

Hi ho, lackaday, boy it's a natural fact,
I ain't no kin, but i would like to get in the act!
Well get outa here, get outa here, get outa here now!
Fellas we appreciate it makin' you mad, but we must ask you to apologise,
Because after all, he's in our band!
Four brothers, four brothers, four brothers, although we sound like more,
Four brothers, four brothers, four brothers, we're really only four!
We like to blow but we don't know
How time can fly and how an hour can pass away.
We wish the time would never go
So we could take our time an' blow till judgement day!

Four brothers, four brothers, four brothers, now just one final word;
I'm happy to know you and I hope I don't forget you,
It's really a pleasure and I hope I don't look silly to you!
I'm hopin' the story that I told did not upset you,
So just before we go, we want you to know
We're glad you let us show you how we always end up with that jazz!
We don't go for braggin' but we're blowin' our own horn!




(Transcribed by Peter Akers - June 2020)