Yip Harburg Lyrics: "I Got a Song"

Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg wrote several new songs for the film version of Cabin in the Sky (supplementing the three Vernon Duke/John LaTouche songs that were retained from the Broadway score), including the hit "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe." They also wrote at least two songs that were cut, only to be recycled elsewhere. One was "Ain't it the Truth," which would have been sung by Louis Armstrong and reprised by Lena Horne. The other, "I Got a Song," doesn't appear to have made it to the recording stage, and I don't know who would have sung it in the movie; but Harburg and Arlen dusted it off the following year and put it into their Broadway show Bloomer Girl. The song combines Arlen's usual blues-iness with a folkish structure (a lot of repetition of words and musical phrases), and it includes one of my favourite Harburg lines: "Got to sing 'em while you're livin' 'cause you're dead so long."

SINGER
I got a basketful of songs!
Railroad, woman, sinner, bullfrog, steamboat, underground songs!
I got 'em, I got 'em!
Railroad song, woman song....

MAN
You got a railroad song?

SINGER
I got a railroad song!

ALL
He's got a railroad song!

SINGER
Railroad needs a hammer,
Hammer gotta be.
Railroad gets a hammer,
And back of that hammer is little ol' me.
Railroad needs the tracks,
Little me lays the tracks.
Now then come the facts:
The big ol' train goes a-whistlin' by,
It'll puff in your face and spit in your eye.
Choo-choo! Goodbye!
That is a railroad song.

ALL
That is a railroad song.

SINGER
I got a song!

MAN
What kind of song?

SINGER
I got a woman song!

ALL
He's got a woman song!

SINGER
Woman needs the lovin',
Lovin' gotta be.
Woman gets the lovin',
And back of that lovin' is little ol' me.
Woman needs the shoes,
Little me gets the shoes.
Now then comes the news:
The shoes you bought ain't under the bed,
Some big boy's shoes is there instead.
Oh-oh! You dead!
That is a woman song.

ALL
That is a woman song.

SINGER
I got 'em, I got 'em!

MAN
I bet you ain't got no sinner song.

SINGER
I got a sinner song!

ALL
He's got a sinner song!

SINGER
Sinner craves a halo,
Halo gotta be.
Sinner gets a halo,
And under that halo is little ol' me.
Devil starts to call,
Little me hears the call.
Now then comes the fall:
Right over my head that halo gets loose,
Falls under my chin and turns to a noose.
Oh-oh! Cooked goose!
That is a sinner song.

ALL
That is a sinner song.

SINGER, then ALL
I got a railroad and a woman and a sinner song,
Got to sing it while you're livin' 'cause you're dead so long.
Makes it easy on the goin' and the gettin' round
When you're travellin' on the upper or the underground.
Railroad, woman, sinner, bullfrog gotta be,
And back of them all is little ol' me.

SINGER
I got a song!

MAN
What kind of song?

SINGER
I got a bullfrog song!

ALL
He's got a bullfrog song!

SINGER
Bullfrog needs a big swamp,
Big swamp gotta be.
Bullfrog gets a big swamp,
And back of that swamp lives little ol' me.
Bullfrog starts to croak,
I yells: "Don't you croak!"
Now then comes the joke:
"Oh, the brown boy sing, and the bullfrog croak,
I's got a green back, you is broke!"
Ha-ha! Big joke!
That is a bullfrog song.

ALL
That is a bullfrog song.

MAN
I'll bet you ain't got no freedom song.

SINGER
I got a freedom song!

ALL
He's got a freedom song!

SINGER
Freedom needs a sweet song,
Sweet song gotta be.
Freedom gets a sweet song,
And back of that song is little ol' me.
Freedom needs a noise,
Little me starts the noise.
Now then come the joys:
The dawn comes up like a cinnamon bun,
You sink your teeth in the rising sun.
Amen! Some fun!
That is a freedom song!

ALL
That is a freedom song!

SINGER, then ALL
I got a railroad and a woman and a freedom song,
Got to sing it while you're livin' 'cause you're dead so long.
Makes it easy on the goin' and the gettin' round
When you're travellin' on the upper or the underground.
Railroad, woman, sinner, freedom gotta be,
And back of them all is little ol' me.

SINGER
I got 'em, amen!