Cole Porter

"What is this thing called love? This funny thing called love? Just who can solve this mystery? Why should it make a fool of me?"

"If you want to buy my wares Follow me and climb the stairs … Love for sale."

"There's an, oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of me."

"Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above. Don't fence me in. Let me ride through the wide open country that I love Don't fence me in Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees Send me off forever but I ask you please Don't fence me in"

"I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences Don't fence me in"

"What moments divine, what rapture serene."

"Some Argentines, without means, do it, People say, in Boston, even beans do it. Let's do it, let's fall in love."

"The chimpanzees in the zoos do it, Some courageous kangaroos do it Let's do it, let's fall in love. I'm sure giraffes on the sly do it, Even eagles as they fly do it, Let's do it, let's fall in love."

"In shallow shoals, English soles do it Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it."

"Electric eels I might add do it, Though it shocks 'em I know..."

"The world admits bears in pits do it, Even Pekingeses at the Ritz do it, Let's do it, let's fall in love."

"If you want a future, darling, Why don't you get a past?"

"They say that spring Means just one thing To little lovebirds. We're not above birds, Let's misbehave."

"They say that bears Have love affairs And even camels, We're merely mammals Let's misbehave."

"I get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all, So tell me why it should be true That I get a kick out of you?"

"Some get a kick from cocaine. I'm sure that if I took even one sniff That would bore me terrifically, too, Yet, I get a kick out of you."

"You're the smile On the Mona Lisa."

"In olden days a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking But now, Heaven knows, Anything goes."

"Good authors, too, who once knew better words Now only use four-letter words Writing prose — Anything goes."

"Too bad, I'm no poet, I happen to know it, But anyway Here's a roundelay I wrote last night about you..."

"You are my fav'rite star, My haven in heaven above, You are ev'rything I love."

"Sad times May follow your tracks, Bad times May bar you from Saks, Add times When Satan in slacks Breaks down your self control..."

"This rule I propose, Always have an ace in the hole. Always try to arrive at Having an ace some place private. Always have an ace in the hole."

"You're the pain in my — The hurricane in my — Supersensitive heart, dear. Still I love you, I know, And the reason is merely because You irritate me so!"

"Relax for a moment my Jerry Come out of your dark monastery While Venus is beaming above. Darling, let's talk about love."

"You'd be so nice to come home to You'd be so nice by the fire..."

"You'd be so nice, You'd be paradise To come home to and love."

"It must be fun to be you And play with love as you do To treat each new romance As merely one more dance Or just another book to glance through It must be fun to acquire Whatever heart you desire, And when you're bored with it To tear it in two, It must be fun to be you."

"Be a clown, be a clown, All the world loves a clown. Act the fool, play the calf, And you'll always have the last laugh."

"Wear the cap and the bells And you'll rate all the great swells. If you become a doctor, folks'll face you with dread. If you become a dentist, they'll be glad when you're dead. You get a bigger hand if you can stand on your head. Be a clown, be a clown, be a clown."

"Be the poor silly ass And you'll always travel first class. Give 'em quips, give 'em fun, And they'll pay to say you're A–1. If you become a farmer, you've the weather to buck. If become a gambler you'll be struck with your luck. But jack you'll never lack if you can quack like a duck. Be a clown, be a clown, be a clown."

"So kiss me Kate, Thou lovely loon, E'er we start on our honeymoon. Oh, kiss me, Kate, Darling devil divine, For now thou shall ever be mine."

"In a way no other songs of the period quite did, Porter's created a world. It was a between–the–wars realm of drop–dead chic and careless name–dropping insouciance. And it was a sexy place to be invited."

"The wit of his words depended on his ability to raise the audience immediately to his own level — and keep it there. The instant happiness that Porter gave his audience is the kind that becomes history."

"Yeah. Cole Porter, but he was taken."