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The Back Bay Polka
George
& Ira Gershwinfrom The Shocking Miss Pilgrim(1946)
Give up the fond embrace,
Pass up that pretty face;You're of the human race
-But not in Boston.
Think as your neighbors
think,
Make lemonade your drink;
You'll be the Missing Link
If you don't wear spats in Boston.
Books that are out of key
We quickly bury;You will find liberty
In Mr. Webster's dictionary.
New York or Philadelph'
Won't put you on the shelf
If you would be yourself -- But you
can't be yourself in Boston.
Don't speak the naked
truth --What's naked is uncouth;
It may go in Duluth --But not
in Boston.
Keep up the cultured pose
By looking down your nose;
Keep up the status quos --Or they'll
keep you out of Boston.
At natural history
We are colossal;
That
is because, you see,
At first hand we study
the fossil.
Strangers are all dismissed --(Not
that we're prejudiced)
You simply don't exist --If
you haven't been born in Boston.
Somewhere the fairer
sex
Has curves that are convex,and girls don't all wear
"specs" --But not in Boston.
One day it's much too hot,
Then cold as you-know-what;
In all the world there's not
Weather anywhere like Boston.
You're of the bourgeoisie,
And no one bothers --Not if your fam'ly tree
Doesn't date
from the PilgrimFathers.
Therefore, when all is said,
Life is so limit-ed,
You find, unless you're dead,
You never
get ahead in Boston.
You never get ahead,
Unless you're dead --You never get ahead
in Boston.
