IN WAIKIKI
Arthur Schwartz, Composer
Johnny Mercer, Lyricist
copyright August 13, 1941

Introduced by Ann Sheriden, The Navy Blues Sextette 
(dubbed Trudy Erwin and the Music Maids), 
reprised in finale by Martha Raye 
the Navy Blues Sextette male ensemble.



Gangway, 
you folks on that steamer!
Gangway, 
you folks on that train!
Gangway for this city dreamer---
Take a look at my smile, 
Take a listen 
And I'll explain.

refrain:
When I get my summer vacation, 
You can bet that I'm going to be 
Far away from civilization 
In Waikiki. 
Where the flowers grow in the forest
In Waikiki.
Lying on a pillow
By a lazy sea.
you can have a date with a cutie
And be sure its on the QT---
Walter Winchell's never on duty
In Waikiki

Oh, the days are really are really seraphie,
And they pass by angelically
And there ain't no five o'clock traffic
In Waikiki,
Where those ukuleles 
Play a tune for me.


While you city dwellers are tortured 
By the lack of vitamin 'B', 
I'll be picking mine from an orchard
In Waikiki.

Oh, it's not considered so shocking
If your skirt is over your knee,
And you can't get run in your stocking
In Waikiki.
You won't meet some out-of-town buyer
Who insists on pitching spree,
So you're never under a dryer
In Waikiki.

Blue Hawaiian moonlight
Through a mango tree,
There's no baby carriage to hurdle,
And no supper dishes to see,
Ane we never put on a girdle
In Waikiki.

There's a view that's certain to thrill you
Where the mountains look at the sea
And the air's so fresh it'll kill you
In Waikiki.
Ever shrub and bush in the garden.
Every single flower and tree,
Smells just like Elizabeth Arden
In Waikiki.
Clouds go by above you,
Driftin' lazily,
Steel guitars play tropical dream songs,
While men sing raptuously.
And you don't hear BMI theme songs
In Waikiki.

You can make a comf'table living
From the thing that you take from the sea,
You can get a lot without giving
In Waikiki.
You can sit around and just stagnate
And collect alot of debris
Or an old utilities magnate
In Waikiki.
Beach boys on a surfboard,
That's the type for me---
Be they butchers, bankers, or sailors,
They must be O.K. or N.G.
Without benefit of their tailors
In Waikiki.




FILM VERSION
from the Warner Bros. picture "Navy blues"
Sterling Music Publishing Company, c1941 

Girls:
When I get my summer vacation, 
You can bet that I'm going to be 
Far away from civilization 
In Waikiki. 
Where the flowers grow in the forest
And you might get stung by a bee
You won't get stung by the florist
In Waikiki.
Lying on a pillow
By a lazy sea.
you can have a date with a cutie
And be sure its on the QT---
Walter Winchell's never on duty
In Waikiki
Oh, it's not considered so shocking
If your skirt is over your knee,
And you can't get run in your stocking
In Waikiki.
There's no baby carriage to hurdle,
And no supper dishes to see,
Ane we never put on a girdle
In Waikiki.
Oh, Blue Hawaiian moonlight
Through a mango tree,
While you city dwellers are tortured 
By the lack of vitamin 'B', 
I'll be picking mine from an orchard
In Waikiki.

Ann Sheriden:
There's a view that's certain to thrill you
Where the mountains look at the sea
And the air's so fresh it'll kill you
In Waikiki.
Where I'm apt to see a flamingo
Underneath a coconut tree,
And there ain't no Monday night BINGO
In Waikiki.
Clouds go by above you,
Drifting lazily,
Steel guitars play tropical dream songs,
While men sing raptuously.
And you don't hear radio theme songs
In Waikiki.

You can make a comf'table living
From the things that you fish from the sea,
You can get a lot without giving
In Waikiki.
You can sit around and just stagnate
And collect alot of debris
Or an old utilities magnate
In Waikiki.
Tall dark and handsome,
That's the type for me.
Be they butchers, bakers, or sailors,
They must be O.K. or N.G.
Without benefit of their tailors
In Waikiki.

Martha Raye:
Well, I tried to get me a man there,
And I tried vociferously---
All I did was get me a tan there
In Waikiki.

Girls:
Though the grass skirts never did wear well,
But they fit so glamorously,
That regretfully we say farewwell
To Waikiki!



(Contributed by Frank Hosegood - April 2020
updated by ILP staff May 2020)