Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A Little Brains, A Little Talent -Damn Yankees

I came across a video of Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) on Youtube performing this number from Damn Yankees, and I knew I just had to post this song. I'm delving deep into the Broadway vault here, as many people have not heard of this one. Damn Yankees is a 1955 musical based on the Faust legend (thanks, Wikipedia). The Faust legend is apparently some old German legend where the character of Faust sells his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and pleasures. Well, Damn Yankees is essentially a "modern" telling of this set in the 1950s, where the protagonist, Joe, sells his soul to be able to play baseball well enough to beat the New York Yankees, who dominated baseball at the time. In this number, Lola, the devil's side-kick is letting Joe know what she is capable of. After all, she has "a little brains, a little talent --with an emphasis on the later." So I invite you all to sing as Lola, and show me your talent! (I might add, that this is a pretty decent audition song.)
Here are the lyrics:

I took the zing out of the King of Siam
I took the starch out of the sails
Of the Prince of Wales
It's no great art, gettin' the heart of a man
On a silver platter
A little brains-a little talent
With the emphasis on the latter!
I made mince-meat out of a sweet young farmer!
I knocked the fight out of a knight
When I pierced his armor
And I'll bet, I can upset every male
In a Yale regatta!
A little brains-a little talent
With the emphasis on the latta!
You gotta know just what to say and how to say it
You gotta know what game to play and how to play it
You gotta stack those decks with a couple-a extra aces
And this queen has her aces
In all the right places!
I've done much more than that old bore, Delilah!
I took the curl out of the hair of a millionaire
There's no trick gettin' some hick who is cool
Just a little warmer
A little talent-a little brains
With the emphasis on the former!
Split up a home, way up in Nome, Alaska!
And wrecked the life of every wife
Down in Madagascar
Ask me why weak men'll die for me
Strong men simply shatter
A little brains-a little talent
With the emphasis on the latter!
You gotta know just what to do and how to do it
You gotta know what tea to brew and how to brew it
You've seen the sign that says George Washington once slept here
Well tho' nobody spied him
Guess who was beside him?
Bring out that boy, he'll be a toy to Lola
Just one more case she can erase with that old boffola
What's my plan. same as with any man
I'll use the standard platter
Plus a little this-a-and a little that-a
With the emphasis on the, on the latter!

Here's the fabulous Jane Krakowsi performing as Lola in the 2008 revival


No comments:

Post a Comment