THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

from "The Band Wagon" 1953 film

Arthur Schwartz (m) Howard Dietz (l)  1953

Fred Astaire  Nanette Fabray  India Adams 
(dubbing for Cyd Charisse) & Jack Buchanan 
with Oscar Levant (piano) & Orchestra 
(film soundtrack)


Everything that happens in life
Can happen in a show;
You can make 'em laugh,
You can make 'em cry,
Anything, anything can go!

The clown
With his pants falling down,
Or the dance
That's a dream of romance,
Or the scene
Where the villain is mean,
That's entertainment!

The lights
On the lady in tights,
Or the bride
With the guy on the side,
Or the ball
Where she gives him a her all,
That's entertainment!

The plot can be hot, simply teeming with sex,
A gay divorcee who is after her ex,
It could be Oedipus Rex,
Where a chap kills his father,
And causes a lot of bother.

The clerk
Who is thrown out of work
By the boss
Who is thrown for a loss
By the skirt
Who is doing him dirt,
The world is a stage,
The stage is a world of entertainment!

That's entertainment!

That's entertainment!

The doubt
While the jury is out,
Or the thrill
When they're reading the will,
Or the chase
For the man with the face,
That's entertainment!

The dame
Who is known as the flame,
Or the king
Of an underworld ring,
He's an ape
Who won't let her escape,
That's  entertainment!

It might be a fight like you see on the screen,
A swain getting slain for the love of a queen,
Some great Shakespearean scene,
Where a ghost and a prince meet,
And everyone ends in mincemeat.
 
The gang
May be waving the flag
That began
With a Mister Cohan,
Hip hooray!
The American way,
The world is a stage,
The stage is a world of entertainment.




(Transcribed by Peter Akers - November 2012)