This
chirrupy little song is performed during the first
act of Florodora by the soubrette1, Angela
(premiered by Miss Kate Cutler) and chorus. It has been described as
'one of the era's sweetest melodies'2.
It certainly has bounce and style to match the lyrics, which are as universally appropriate
today as ever. Listen out for the enchanting musical nuances in the harmony. Are
they intended to represent tentative male/female interchanges points of view, or as
ineffectual male interjections? (We've allocated some 'appropriate' ones to the bassoon).
The tune is also a splendid rhythm to dance to . . .
The
Fellow Who Might
(Delightful 4 bar Intro)
(Solo): There
was a maiden decidedly fair,
And fairly decided in mind . . .,
Who sought her affinity everywhere,
But found him not easy to find.
(Chorus Unison): She
. . found him not easy,
Not easy to find,
(Solo): Not
easy to find, not she . . .
She pass'd all the men she knew in review,
But none were acceptable quite . . .,
In fact she decided they'd none of them do,
(Chorus Unison): None
of them do, do, do . . .
(Solo): Excepting
a fellow, a fellow who might,
(All Unison): Excepting
a fellow who might . . .
(Solo): The
fellow who might, might, might - who might;
At first their acquaintance was slight, was slight,
But tho' nobody knew how it happened, it grew
Until they were very good friends were the two -
The maiden with eyes of a beautiful blue
And the fellow who might, might, might . . .
(All Unison) (Bouche fermée): Hmmmmm Hmmmmm
(4 bar Interlude)
(Solo): She
spoke of the joys of a bachelor's life,
So happy, so careless and free . . .,
She'd not be a man who was tied to a wife,
She'd never get married, not she,
(Chorus Unison): She
. . never get married,
Get married, not she,
(Solo): Get married, no, no, not she . . .
She wonder'd that men should care to be wed,
And thought them exceedingly good . . .,
Of course when she put it in that way, he said,
(Chorus Unison): That way he said, said, said . . .
(Solo): "I'm
one of the fellows, the fellows who would,
(All Unison): I'm
one of the fellows who would . . .".
(Solo): The
fellow who would, would, would - who would;
The maiden, of course, understood, stood, stood,
And tho' nobody knew how it happened, it grew
Until they were always together, these two -
The maiden with eyes of a beautiful blue
And the fellow who would, would, would.
(All Unison (Bouche fermée)): Hmmmmm Hmmmmm
(4 bar Interlude)
(Solo): When
couples are married, of course we're aware
That one of them ought to obey . . .;
Which seems an arrangement a trifle unfair
To such as prefer their own way -
(Chorus unison): To
. . such as prefer, as prefer their own way.
(Solo): And
many prefer their own way . . .
But when this engaging young couple were wed,
There was one did exactly as bid . . .;
Which was perfectly right, but, as ev'ry one said,
(Chorus unison): Everyone
said, said, said . . .
(Solo): It
wasn't the woman, the woman who did
(All unison): It
wasn't the woman who did . . ..
(Solo): The
woman who did, did, did - who did,
Who didn't do as she was bid, bid, bid,
And tho' nobody knew how it happen'd, it's true
That one of this couple was boss of the two -
The wife who commanded her husband to do,
And the husband who did, did, did . . .
(All Unison (Bouche fermée)): Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
(All SATB): The
fellow who might, might, might, who might;
At first their acquaintance was slight, was slight.
Tho' nobody knew how it happened, it grew
Until they were very good friends were the two -
The maiden with eyes of a beautiful blue
And the fellow who might, might, might . . .
(All Unison (Bouche fermée)): Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
Did
you enjoy singing along with the fun in our MusicSmiles
arrangement of Leslie Stuart's & J Hickory Wood's song (and maybe had a little
skip to it)?
Shall
we see him (or her) in the Shade
of the Palm . . .?
1. Footnote: A
soubrette is a light soprano, who takes the rather pert roles in opera or
operetta (such as Despina in Cosi fan tutte [Mozart], Blonde in Die
Entfuhrung aus dem Serail [Mozart], Adele in Die Fledermaus [Johann
Strauss II], etc explains my music dictionary, see Kennedy in the MusicSmiles
bibliography
for details).
Return
to story.
2. Footnote For
further details see Kurt Gänzl in the MusicSmiles
bibliography.
Return
to story.
