Polly Believed in Preparedness 1916 "Have A Heart"

by James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 2 Aug 2007
2007

Ev'ry maiden today
should know men thru' and thru'
and it's never to soon to begin.
To study their ways
for each year nowadays
it gets harder to gather them in.
I once knew a girl
who was prudence itself
for she always was looking ahead;
so practised each glance
and left nothing to chance
"Be prepared,"
was her motto, she said.

Polly believed in preparedness
so when she put on a new dress,
she paid attention
to things we won't mention,
you don't know they're there,
but you guess.
Though her efforts were frequently wasted,
still no trouble and forethought, she spared,
for she said: "You can't know
when the wind's going to blow."
She liked to be prepared.

Polly believed in preparedness,
she knew what these meetings can be;
so she'd deposit her aunt in a closet,
and father behind the settee.
When men talked indiscreetly, how sweetly
she'd smile, as their fervor she shared.
In a corner, alone, stood a small dictaphone,
she liked to be prepared.

Now and then,
some young man would
drop in at her home
for a nice cozy afternoon chat.
She made preparations
for such conversations
before he had hung up his hat.
Young men, as you know,
often let themselves go,
and are apt to say more than they mean;
so she felt the fitness
of having a witness
to take a few notes of the scene.

Polly believed in preparedness
so when she put on a new dress,
she paid attention
to things we won't mention,
you don't know they're there,
but you guess.
Though her efforts were frequently wasted,
still no trouble and forethought, she spared,
for she said: "You can't know
when the wind's going to blow."
She liked to be prepared.

Polly believed in preparedness,
she knew what these meetings can be;
so she'd deposit her aunt in a closet,
and father behind the settee.
When men talked indiscreetly, how sweetly
she'd smile, as their fervor she shared.
In a corner, alone, stood a small dictaphone,
she liked to be prepared.

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
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Polly Believed in Preparedness 1916 Kern
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by P.G.Wodehouse
© MCMXVI by T.B.Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter  N.Y.
*
from "Have A Heart"
*
sequence & karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Thursday 2 August 2007 at 5.08pm
in association with Doug Grierson
*