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Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love

November 26, 2023

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (also known as "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" or simply "Let's Do It") is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical Paris (1928) by French chanteuse Irène Bordoni for whom Porter had written the musical as a starring vehicle.[1]

Cole Porter, composer of "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"

Bordoni's husband and Paris producer Ray Goetz convinced Porter to give Broadway another try with this show.[2] The song was later used in the English production of Wake Up and Dream (1929)[3] and was used as the title theme music in the 1933 Hollywood movie, Grand Slam starring Loretta Young and Paul Lukas. In 1960 it was also included in the film version of Cole Porter's Can-Can.[4]

History edit

The first of Porter's "list songs", it features a string of suggestive and droll comparisons and examples, preposterous pairings and double entendres, dropping famous names and events, drawing from highbrow and popular culture. Porter was a strong admirer of the Savoy Operas of Gilbert & Sullivan, many of whose stage works featured similar comic list songs.[5]

The first refrain covers human ethnic groups, the second refrain birds, the third refrain marine life, the fourth refrain insects and centipedes, and the fifth refrain non-human mammals.

One commentator saw the phrase Let's do "it" as a euphemistic reference to a proposition for sexual intercourse.[1] According to this argument, Let's do it was a pioneer pop song to declare openly "sex is fun". According to it, several suggestive lines include a couplet from verse 4: "Moths in your rugs do it, What's the use of moth-balls?" and "Folks in Siam do it, Think of Siamese twins" (verse 1) and "Why ask if shad do it? Waiter, bring me shad roe" (verse 3) and "Sweet guinea-pigs do it, Buy a couple and wait" (verse 5).[6]

The nature of the song is such that it has lent itself over the years to the regular addition of contemporary or topical stanzas. For example, in 1955 the lines "Even Liberace, we assume, does it," "Ernest Hemingway could -just- do it" and many more were added by Noël Coward in his Las Vegas cabaret performance of the song, in which he replaced all of Porter's lyrics with his own.[7][8]

Legacy edit

 
"Let's Do It"
2011 performance of "Let's Do It" by Linda November and Artie Schroeck in Nevada
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song has been revived many times since 1928, although usually with only a limited portion of the original lyrics.[9] A punk rock version performed by Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg was used as the theme song in the 1995 movie Tank Girl, and later in a more classical version in a musical revue number within the film. In the revue, the song is at first performed by stage actress Ann Magnuson, but is taken over by star Lori Petty after she places duct tape over Magnuson's mouth. It was originally recorded with Joan Jett and Greg Graffin, but Atlantic Records did not want them using Graffin so they deleted his voice and recorded Westerberg's. Joan Jett and Greg Graffin's version of "Let's Do It" was eventually released in 2000 on the compilation CD Laguna Tunes (Blackheart Records).

The White Stripes' song "Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)", from their 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan, borrows lyrics and themes from the song. Brazilian singers Chico Buarque and Elza Soares recorded a Portuguese adaptation by Carlos Rennó, "Façamos - Vamos Amar", on Buarque's 2002 album Duetos. Scottish singer Shirley Manson of Garbage incorporated lyrics from the song into Garbage's performance of their song "Vow" at Bizarre festival in 1996.[10]

The song is featured prominently in Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris. Actor Yves Heck played Cole Porter in the movie.

Racial lyrics controversy edit

In Porter's publication from 1928, the opening lines for the chorus carried three derogatory racial references: Chinks, Japs, and Laps.

The original was:[9]

Chinks do it, Japs do it,
up in Lapland little Laps do it...

The original line can be heard in several early recordings of the song, such as a recording made by the Dorsey Brothers & their Orchestra (featuring a vocal by a young Bing Crosby),[11] Rudy Vallée, Paul Whiteman And His Orchestra, all in 1928, and a version of the song by the singer and well-known Broadway star Mary Martin (with Ray Sinatra's orchestra), recorded in 1944. Another example is Billie Holiday, in 1941.[12] Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman orchestra recorded a version in 1941 with these lyrics.

CBS came up with less offensive lyrics, which NBC adopted, and changed the opening to the refrain: "Birds do it, bees do it" when he realized that the line was offensive.[13]

Notable recordings edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Sheldon Patinkin (20 May 2008). "No legs, no jokes, no chance": a history of the American musical theater. Northwestern University Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-8101-1994-9. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  2. ^ Don Tyler (2 April 2007). Hit songs, 1900-1955: American popular music of the pre-rock era. McFarland. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-7864-2946-2. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  3. ^ Charles Schwartz (21 March 1979). Cole Porter: a biography. Da Capo Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-306-80097-9. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  4. ^ Tom Santopietro (11 November 2008). Sinatra in Hollywood. Macmillan. p. 475. ISBN 978-0-312-36226-3. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  5. ^ Morris Dickstein (6 September 2010). Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 374. ISBN 978-0-393-33876-8. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  6. ^ Robert A. Schanke (March 2002). Staging desire: queer readings of American theater history. University of Michigan Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-472-06749-7. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  7. ^ "LyricsPlayground Website – LET'S DO IT (Las Vegas Version - 1955) Noel Coward". Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  8. ^ Noël Coward; John Hadfield (October 1973). Cowardy custard: the world of Noël Coward. Heinemann. p. 52. ISBN 9780434310906. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  9. ^ a b Bundy, June (25 December 1954). "Mr. J.Q. Grows Up; He's Less Prudish About Music on Air". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  10. ^ Garbage - Vow - Bizarre Festival 1996 on YouTube
  11. ^ Bing Crosby (1928). Bing Crosby, Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love w/Dorsey Brothers And Their Orchestra (YouTube). Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  12. ^ Billie Holiday (1941). Billie Holiday, Let's Do It (YouTube). Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  13. ^ Philip H. Herbst (1997). The Color of Words: an encyclopedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States. Intercultural Press. ISBN 1-877864-97-8.
  14. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  15. ^ "RCA Victor Records in the 20-5500 to 20-5999 series". 78discography.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  16. ^ Al Hirt, The Greatest Horn in the World Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  17. ^ Wilman, Chris (August 3, 2021). "Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Reveal 'Love for Sale,' Cole Porter Tribute Album Said to Be Bennett's Last". Variety. from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.

External links edit

  • Ella Fitzgerald recording of this song (archive.org)
  • Mother Mother Let's Fall in Love on YouTube

November 26, 2023
fall, love, also, known, fall, love, simply, popular, song, written, 1928, cole, porter, introduced, porter, first, broadway, success, musical, paris, 1928, french, chanteuse, irène, bordoni, whom, porter, written, musical, starring, vehicle, cole, porter, com. Let s Do It Let s Fall in Love also known as Let s Do It Let s Fall in Love or simply Let s Do It is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter It was introduced in Porter s first Broadway success the musical Paris 1928 by French chanteuse Irene Bordoni for whom Porter had written the musical as a starring vehicle 1 Cole Porter composer of Let s Do It Let s Fall in Love Bordoni s husband and Paris producer Ray Goetz convinced Porter to give Broadway another try with this show 2 The song was later used in the English production of Wake Up and Dream 1929 3 and was used as the title theme music in the 1933 Hollywood movie Grand Slam starring Loretta Young and Paul Lukas In 1960 it was also included in the film version of Cole Porter s Can Can 4 Contents 1 History 2 Legacy 3 Racial lyrics controversy 4 Notable recordings 5 References 6 External linksHistory editThe first of Porter s list songs it features a string of suggestive and droll comparisons and examples preposterous pairings and double entendres dropping famous names and events drawing from highbrow and popular culture Porter was a strong admirer of the Savoy Operas of Gilbert amp Sullivan many of whose stage works featured similar comic list songs 5 The first refrain covers human ethnic groups the second refrain birds the third refrain marine life the fourth refrain insects and centipedes and the fifth refrain non human mammals One commentator saw the phrase Let s do it as a euphemistic reference to a proposition for sexual intercourse 1 According to this argument Let s do it was a pioneer pop song to declare openly sex is fun According to it several suggestive lines include a couplet from verse 4 Moths in your rugs do it What s the use of moth balls and Folks in Siam do it Think of Siamese twins verse 1 and Why ask if shad do it Waiter bring me shad roe verse 3 and Sweet guinea pigs do it Buy a couple and wait verse 5 6 The nature of the song is such that it has lent itself over the years to the regular addition of contemporary or topical stanzas For example in 1955 the lines Even Liberace we assume does it Ernest Hemingway could just do it and many more were added by Noel Coward in his Las Vegas cabaret performance of the song in which he replaced all of Porter s lyrics with his own 7 8 Legacy edit nbsp Let s Do It source source 2011 performance of Let s Do It by Linda November and Artie Schroeck in Nevada Problems playing this file See media help The song has been revived many times since 1928 although usually with only a limited portion of the original lyrics 9 A punk rock version performed by Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg was used as the theme song in the 1995 movie Tank Girl and later in a more classical version in a musical revue number within the film In the revue the song is at first performed by stage actress Ann Magnuson but is taken over by star Lori Petty after she places duct tape over Magnuson s mouth It was originally recorded with Joan Jett and Greg Graffin but Atlantic Records did not want them using Graffin so they deleted his voice and recorded Westerberg s Joan Jett and Greg Graffin s version of Let s Do It was eventually released in 2000 on the compilation CD Laguna Tunes Blackheart Records The White Stripes song Forever for Her Is Over for Me from their 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan borrows lyrics and themes from the song Brazilian singers Chico Buarque and Elza Soares recorded a Portuguese adaptation by Carlos Renno Facamos Vamos Amar on Buarque s 2002 album Duetos Scottish singer Shirley Manson of Garbage incorporated lyrics from the song into Garbage s performance of their song Vow at Bizarre festival in 1996 10 The song is featured prominently in Woody Allen s 2011 film Midnight in Paris Actor Yves Heck played Cole Porter in the movie Racial lyrics controversy editIn Porter s publication from 1928 the opening lines for the chorus carried three derogatory racial references Chinks Japs and Laps The original was 9 Chinks do it Japs do it up in Lapland little Laps do it The original line can be heard in several early recordings of the song such as a recording made by the Dorsey Brothers amp their Orchestra featuring a vocal by a young Bing Crosby 11 Rudy Vallee Paul Whiteman And His Orchestra all in 1928 and a version of the song by the singer and well known Broadway star Mary Martin with Ray Sinatra s orchestra recorded in 1944 Another example is Billie Holiday in 1941 12 Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman orchestra recorded a version in 1941 with these lyrics CBS came up with less offensive lyrics which NBC adopted and changed the opening to the refrain Birds do it bees do it when he realized that the line was offensive 13 Notable recordings editDorsey Brothers amp their Orchestra vocal Bing Crosby January 26 1929 14 Lee Morse 1928 Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees billed as Frank Mater 1928 Mary Martin with Ray Sinatra amp His Orchestra 1941 Eartha Kitt with Henri Rene and his Orchestra Recorded in New York City on October 5 1951 It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20 5737 in the U S 15 and by EMI on the His Master s Voice label as catalog number B 10778 The song was also released on the LP That Bad Eartha 1953 Dinah Washington In the Land of Hi Fi 1956 Louis Armstrong Ella and Louis Again 1957 Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson 1957 The Kirby Stone Four Baubles Bangles And Beads 1958 Frank Sinatra amp Shirley MacLaine Can Can Soundtrack 1960 Della Reese Della Della Cha Cha Cha 1960 MAD magazine parodied the song using comic strip characters as the finale to The MAD Comic Opera from MAD 56 written by Frank Jacobs We ve heard that Blondie and Dag do it Frequently a Yokum and a Scragg do it Let s do it let s fall in love Al Hirt The Greatest Horn in the World 1961 16 Nancy Sinatra Sugar 1967 Hildegard Knef Traume heissen Du Sei mal verliebt German version 1968 Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook 1956 The Stockholm Concert 1966 1966 Montreux 75 1975 Johnny Hartman Thank You for Everything 1998 rec 1976 John Inman I m Free 1977 Kim Basinger The Marrying Man 1991 Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg of The Replacements recorded a punk version for the soundtrack of Tank Girl Susannah McCorkle Easy to Love The Songs of Cole Porter 1996 Lee Wiley Hot House Rose 1996 Sings Porter and Gershwin 2004 Dee Dee Bridgewater Dear Ella 1997 Come Shine Come Shine 2001 Chico Buarque and Elza Soares Facamos Vamos Amar Brazilian version 2002 Alanis Morissette Alanis Morissette The Collection 2005 originally released on the soundtrack of De Lovely Diana Ross Blue recorded in 1973 unreleased until 2006 Barbara Schoneberger Sei mal verliebt Jetzt singt sie auch noch 2007 James Newman Skins Newman performed the song as his character Tony in the episode Tony of the U S version of the U K drama Skins Yves Heck Heck played the physical role while Conal Fowkes provided the voice as Cole Porter in the 2011 Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris Wonder Pets In the episode Save the Puppy the Wonder Pets sing a parody of the song about how everyone needs to urinate using the lyrics Dogs do it frogs do it even funny winking hogs do it The Sesame Street song Let s Lay an Egg is a parody of the song using the lyrics Snails do it slugs do it Even tiny Twiddlebugs do it Molly Ringwald the theme song for The Secret Life of the American Teenager from 2008 to 2012 in which Ringwald also stars as Anne Juergens Ringwald s rendition is upbeat containing such lines as Falling in love is such a easy thing to do Birds can do it we can do it Let s stop talking let s get to it Let s fall in love A duet version was recorded by Scottish singers Todd Gordon and Eddi Reader accompanied by The Royal Air Force Squadronaires big band 2012 produced by Ken Barnes Pablo Bubar Boom Town 2013 Bunny Berigan Lady Gaga recorded a version of the song for her 2021 collaborative album with Tony Bennett Love for Sale 17 References edit a b Sheldon Patinkin 20 May 2008 No legs no jokes no chance a history of the American musical theater Northwestern University Press p 173 ISBN 978 0 8101 1994 9 Retrieved 3 July 2011 Don Tyler 2 April 2007 Hit songs 1900 1955 American popular music of the pre rock era McFarland p 156 ISBN 978 0 7864 2946 2 Retrieved 3 July 2011 Charles Schwartz 21 March 1979 Cole Porter a biography Da Capo Press p 103 ISBN 978 0 306 80097 9 Retrieved 3 July 2011 Tom Santopietro 11 November 2008 Sinatra in Hollywood Macmillan p 475 ISBN 978 0 312 36226 3 Retrieved 3 July 2011 Morris Dickstein 6 September 2010 Dancing in the Dark A Cultural History of the Great Depression W W Norton amp Company p 374 ISBN 978 0 393 33876 8 Retrieved 4 July 2011 Robert A Schanke March 2002 Staging desire queer readings of American theater history University of Michigan Press p 156 ISBN 978 0 472 06749 7 Retrieved 4 July 2011 LyricsPlayground Website LET S DO IT Las Vegas Version 1955 Noel Coward Retrieved 2016 01 24 Noel Coward John Hadfield October 1973 Cowardy custard the world of Noel Coward Heinemann p 52 ISBN 9780434310906 Retrieved 3 July 2011 a b Bundy June 25 December 1954 Mr J Q Grows Up He s Less Prudish About Music on Air Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc p 16 ISSN 0006 2510 Retrieved 17 January 2023 Garbage Vow Bizarre Festival 1996 on YouTube Bing Crosby 1928 Bing Crosby Let s Do It Let s Fall in Love w Dorsey Brothers And Their Orchestra YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Billie Holiday 1941 Billie Holiday Let s Do It YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Philip H Herbst 1997 The Color of Words an encyclopedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States Intercultural Press ISBN 1 877864 97 8 A Bing Crosby Discography BING magazine International Club Crosby Retrieved April 25 2017 RCA Victor Records in the 20 5500 to 20 5999 series 78discography com Retrieved 2013 11 29 Al Hirt The Greatest Horn in the World Retrieved April 6 2013 Wilman Chris August 3 2021 Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Reveal Love for Sale Cole Porter Tribute Album Said to Be Bennett s Last Variety Archived from the original on August 3 2021 Retrieved August 3 2021 External links editElla Fitzgerald recording of this song archive org Mother Mother Let s Fall in Love on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Let 27s Do It Let 27s Fall in Love amp oldid 1185037747, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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