Down By The Erie Canal 1915

by James Pitt-Payne, london UK - 26 May 2010
2010

If you want to make good
in a Broadway show,
You must have a song
that is sure to go,
A pretty little ditty
that they whistle round the city,
and they play ev'rywhere,
ev'ry day ev'rywhere;
It's a regular popular tin pan song,
The kind of a melody can't go wrong;
A catchy refrain,
The sort of a strain
that gives you a pain
when you hear it again.
The orchestra murders it o'er and o'er,
The ushers applaud
and they shout for more,
They resort to the trick
of the gallery "clique"
so the encores will not miss.
The management features it near and far
It's usually sung by the female star,
The publisher gives her a motor car,
And the chorus goes something like this:

Down by The Erie,
There waits my pal;
Tho' the days are long and dreary,
He declares he'll ne'er grow weary;
Poor John O'Leary,
I'm afraid you've lost your gal,
for I've left you flat, my dearie,
by The Erie Canal.

Down by The Erie,
There waits my pal;
Tho' the days are long and dreary,
He declares he'll ne'er grow weary;
Poor John O'Leary,
I'm afraid you've lost your gal,
for I've left you flat, my dearie,
by The Erie Canal.

Yes there must be a song
in the Broadway show,
There must be a song
with a swing and go,
That's sure to raise a ruction,
that's the hit of the production,
that they hum as they go,
and they come to and fro'
A melody haunting you day and night,
The kind of a tune any kid can write;
You hear it at lunch,
a song for the bunch,
A song with a hunch,
A song with a punch.
And that is the reason they advertise,
The song of the season,
the big surprise;
Oh, this terrible song,
just to boost it along
Not an old time trick they miss.
The fellow who puts on the chorus stuff
is on to the fact
that this song's a bluff,
He knows that the audience has enough,
But the management wants it like this:

Down by The Erie,
There waits my pal;
Tho' the days are long and dreary,
He declares he'll ne'er grow weary;
Poor John O'Leary,
I'm afraid you've lost your gal,
for I've left you flat, my dearie,
by The Erie Canal.

Down by The Erie,
There waits my pal;
Tho' the days are long and dreary,
He declares he'll ne'er grow weary;
Poor John O'Leary,
I'm afraid you've lost your gal,
for I've left you flat, my dearie,
by The Erie Canal.

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
*
Down By The Erie Canal 1915
by George M. Cohan
© MCMXV by Cohan & Harris Pub.Co. N.Y.C.
*
from "Hello Broadway" A Cohan & Harris Musical Review
*
sequence & karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Wednesday 26 May 2010 at 17.45
in association with Veda Meyer-Castens
*