Yan-Kee 1920 Gershwin

by James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 14 Jul 2006
2006

Now listen to this tale of love
in old Japan
between a Yankee man,
and Nankee Soo.
Miss Nankee loved her Yankee
just as few girls can
this American trav'ling man
loved Nankee too.
"Will you marry me," said Nankee Soo
with a pretty Geisha smile.
"I want velly much to mally you,
won't you settle down awhile?"
He stayed awhile
and then one day he said: "Goodbye."
So now poor Nankee's crying:

Yankee since you go away,
Nankee, sit all day and pray,
pray you please leave Melican shore,
Yankee, come back for I no can walk,
I no can talk
I no can even sing.
All night I weep,
I no can sleep,
I no can anyt'ing,
if you say no come back to me,
then I go fly to my Yankee!

Yankee since you go away,
Nankee, sit all day and pray,
pray you please leave Melican shore,
Yankee, come back for
Sopkowtowseemongolay
and multiply by three,
which makes it clear,
while you're not here
I'm sad as I can be,
if Yankee no come back to me,
then I go fly to my Yankee!

This little maid could not believe
he'd ever go,
she thought he loved her so.
and he was true,
now like poor Butterfly
her heart is filled with woe,
ev'rybody in Tokyo
knows why she's blue.
When they heard her cry one day they said:
"Write to him and he'll return."
Though she couldn't spell a single word,
she decided she would learn,
now just imagine
how he must have felt to read
this note from Nankee's pleading:

Yankee since you go away,
Nankee, sit all day and pray,
pray you please leave Melican shore,
Yankee, come back for I no can walk,
I no can talk
I no can even sing.
All night I weep,
I no can sleep,
I no can anyt'ing,
if you say no come back to me,
then I go fly to my Yankee!

Yankee since you go away,
Nankee, sit all day and pray,
pray you please leave Melican shore,
Yankee, come back for
Sopkowtowseemongolay
and multiply by three,
which makes it clear,
while you're not here
I'm sad as I can be,
if Yankee no come back to me,
then I go fly to my Yankee!

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
*
Yan-Kee 1920 Gershwin
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Irving Caesar
© MCMXX by T.B.Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter  N.Y.
*
sequence and karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Friday 14 July 2006 at 8.57pm
in association with Doug Grierson
*