Ella Fitzgerald

[Torrent Maniak]

A-tisket A-tasket





A-tisket A-tasket
A brown and yellow basket
I send a letter to my mommy
On the way I dropped it

I dropped it
I dropped it
Yes on the way I dropped it
A little girlie picked it up
And put it in her pocket

SHE WAS TRUCKIN ON DOWN THE AVENUE
Not a single thing to do
She went peck peck pecking all around
When she spied it on the ground

She took it
She took it
My little yellow basket
And if she doesn't bring it back I think that I will die

A-tisket A-tasket
I lost my yellow basket
And if that girl don't return it
I don't know what I'll do

Oh dear I wonder where my basket can be
(So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we)
Oh geez I wish that little girl I could see
(So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we)

Oh why was I so careless with that basket of mine?
That itty bitty basket was a joy of mine!

A-tisket
A-tasket
I lost my yellow basket
Won't someone help me find my basket
And make me happy again? again

(Was it green?) No, no, no, no
(Was it red?) No, no, no, no
(Was it blue?) No, no, no, no

Just a little yellow basket
A little yellow basket

 

[Torrent Maniak]

A Fine Romance

A Fine Romance



A fine romance, with no kisses
A fine romance, my friend this is
We should be like a couple of hot tomatoes
But you're as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes
A fine romance, you won't nestle
A fine romance, you won't wrestle
I might as well play bridge
With my old maid aunt
I haven't got a chance
This is a fine romance

A fine romance, my good fellow
You take romance, I'll take jello
You're calmer than the seals
In the Arctic Ocean
At least they flap their fins
To express emotion
A fine romance with no quarrels
With no insults and all morals
I've never mussed the crease
In your blue serge pants
I never get the chance
This is a fine romance

 

[Torrent Maniak]

A Foggy Day

A Foggy Day







I was a stranger in the city
Out of town were the people I knew
I had that feeling of self-pity
What to do, what to do, what to do
The outlook was decidedly blue

But as I walked through the foggy streets alone
It turned out to be the luckiest day I've known

A foggy day, in London town
Had me low, had me down
I viewed the morning, with much alarm
British Museum, had lost its charm

How long I wondered,
Could this thing last
But the age of miracles, hadn't passed
For suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London town,
The sun was shining everywhere

For suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London town,
The sun was shining everywhere

Everywhere
Everywhere
Everywhere

 

[Torrent Maniak]

A Night In Tunisia

A Night In Tunisia


The moon is the same moon above you
Aglow with its cool evening light
But shining at night, in Tunisia
Never does it shine so bright

The stars are aglow in the heavens
But only the wise understand
That shining at night in Tunisia
They guide you through the desert sand

Words fail, to tell a tale
Too exotic to be told
Each night's a deeper night
In a world, ages old

The cares of the day seem to vanish
The ending of day brings release
Each wonderful night in Tunisia
Where the nights are filled with peace

(bridge)
(scat)

{Repeat all twice}
(scat)
Each wonderful night in Tunisia

 

[Torrent Maniak]

A Ship Without A Sail

A Ship Without A Sail


I don't know what day it is
Or if it's dark or fair
Somehow, that's just the way it is
And I don't really care

I go to this or that place
I seem alive and well
My head is just a hat place
My breast an empty shell
And I've a faded dream to sell

All alone, all at sea
Why does nobody care for me?
When there's no love to hold my love
Why is my heart so frail?
Like a ship without a sail.

Out on the ocean,
Sailors can use a chart
I'm on the ocean
Guided by just a lonely heart

Still alone, still at sea
Still there's no one to care for me
When there's no hand to hold my hand
Life is a loveless tale
For a ship without a sail

(Bridge)

Still alone, still at sea
Still there's no one to care for me
When there's no hand to hold my hand
Life is a loveless tale
For a ship without a sail

 

[Torrent Maniak]

A Woman Is a Sometime Thing

A Woman Is a Sometime Thing

JAKE
(To Clara)
What, that chile ain't asleep yet? Give him to me.
I'll fix him for you.
(Jake takes the baby from Clara)

Lissen to yo' daddy warn you,
'Fore you start a-travelling,
Woman may born you, love you and mourn you,
But a woman is a sometime thing,
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.

MINGO
Oh, a woman is a sometime thing.

JAKE
Yo' mammy is the first to name you,
Then she'll tie you to her apron string,
Then she'll shame you and she'll blame you
Till yo' woman comes to claim you,
'Cause a woman is a sometime thing,
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.

SPORTING LIFE
Oh, a woman is a sometime thing.

JAKE
Don't you never let a woman grieve you
Jus' cause she got yo' weddin' ring.
She'll love you and deceive you,
Take yo' clothes and leave you
'Cause a woman is a sometime thing.

ALL
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing,
Yes, a woman is a sometime thing.

JAKE
There now, what I tells you; he's asleep already.

(Baby wails)
(Men at crap game laugh).

 

[Torrent Maniak]

Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive

Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive


Gather 'round me, everybody
Gather 'round me, while I preach some
Feel a sermon coming on here
The topic will be sin
And that's what I'm agin'
If you wanna hear my story
Then settle back and just sit tight
While I start reviewing
The attitude of doing right

You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
E-lim-i-nate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with mister inbetween

You got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
And have faith, or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

To illustrate my last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark,
What did they do, just when everything looked so dark?
Man, they said, we better

Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
E-lim-i-nate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with mister inbetween

 

[Torrent Maniak]

Ace In The Hole

Ace In The Hole


Sad times, may follow your tracks
Bad times, may bar you from Sak's
At times, when Satan in slacks
Breaks down your self control

Maybe, as often it goes
Your Abe-y, may tire of his rose
So baby, this rule I propose
Always have an ace in the hole

Sad times, may follow your tracks
Bad times, may bar you from Sak's
At times, when Satan in slacks
Breaks down your self control

Maybe, as often it goes
Your Abe-y, may tire of his rose
So baby, this rule I propose
Always have an ace in the hole

Always have an ace in the hole

 

[Torrent Maniak]

Alexander's Ragtime Band

Alexander's Ragtime Band





Come on and hear (2x), Alexander's Ragtime Band,
Come on and hear (2x), it's the best band in the land!
They can play a bugle call like you never heard before,
So natural that you want to go to war--
That's just the bestest band what am, Honey Lamb!
Come on along (2x), let me take you by the hand
Up to the man (2x), who's the leader of the band,
And if you want to hear the Swanee River played in ragtime
Come on and hear (2x), Alexander's Ragtime Band!

 

[Torrent Maniak]

All By Myself

All By Myself




I'm so unhappy
What'll I do?
I long for somebody who
Will sympathize with me
I'm growing so tired of living alone
I lie awake all night and cry
Nobody loves me
That's why

All by myself in the morning
All by myself in the night

I sit alone with a table and a chair
So unhappy there
Playing solitaire

All by myself I get lonely
Watching the clock on the shelf

I'd love to rest my weary head on somebody's shoulder
I hate to grow older
All by myself