For today’s Music Friday feature, we join Frank Sinatra, Stubby Kaye and Johnny Silver as they stroll the streets of 1940s New York City singing the title song to Guys and Dolls. In this comical tune about how guys in love often do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do, ruby and platinum make their big screen debut.
Based on the unsavory activities of petty criminals and professional gamblers, Guys and Dolls, which was a hit Broadway play in 1950 and an equally successful movie in 1955, seems to be written in a language all its own.
For instance, take this verse written by Frank Loesser: “When you meet a mug / Lately out of the jug / And he's still liftin' platinum falderal / Call it hell / Call it heaven / It's a probable twelve to seven / That the guy's only doin' it for some doll.”
A loose non-poetic translation would be, “When you meet an ugly guy who's been recently let out of jail, and he still finds it necessary to shoplift platinum trinkets, you can agree or disagree with what he's doing, but it's a good bet that he’s doing it to impress a woman.”
The ruby line in the spoken introduction to the song needs no translation: “What's in The Daily News? / I'll tell ya what's in The Daily News. / A story about a guy / Who bought his wife a small ruby / With what otherwise woulda been his union dues. / That's what's in the Daily News.”
The Broadway premiere of Guys and Dolls was in 1950. It ran for 1,200 performances and won a Tony Award in 1951 for Best Musical. The film adaption by Samual Goldwyn Productions cost a then-unheard-of $5.5 million and starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. It ended up grossing $20 million at the box office.
We welcome you to enjoy the video of Sinatra (as Nathan Detroit), Kaye (as Nicely-Nicely Johnson) and Johnny Silver (as Benny Southstreet) performing the classic “Guys and Dolls.” The lyrics are below is you’d like to sing along.
“Guys and Dolls”
Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser
(spoken intro)...
What's playin' at The Roxy?
I'll tell ya what's playin' at The Roxy.
A picture about a Minnesota man
So in love with a Mississippi girl
That he sacrifices everything
And moves all the way to Biloxi.
That's what's playin' at The Roxy.
What's in the Daily News?
I'll tell ya what's in the Daily News.
A story about a guy
Who bought his wife a small ruby
With what otherwise woulda been his union dues.
That's what's in the Daily News.
What's happenin' all over?
I'll tell ya what's happenin' all over.
Guy sittin' home by a television set
Who once used to be something of a rover.
That's what's happenin' all over.
Love is the thing that has licked 'em.
And it looks like I'm just another victim.
(song begins)...
When you see a guy
Reach for stars in the sky
You can bet that he's doin' it for some doll
When you spot a John
Waitin' out in the rain
Chances are he's insane
As only a John
Can be for a Jane
When you meet a gent
Payin' all kinds of rent
For a flat that could flatten the Taj Mahal
Call it sad
Call it funny
But it's better than even money
That the guy's only doin' it for some doll
When you see a Joe
Savin' half of his dough
You can bet there'll be mink in it for some doll
When a bum buys wine
Like a bum can't afford
It's a cinch that the bum
Is under the thumb
Of some little broad
When you meet a mug
Lately out of the jug
And he's still liftin' platinum falderol
Call it hell
Call it heaven
It's a probable twelve to seven
That the guy's only doin' it for some doll
When you see a sport
And his cash has run short
You can bet that he's bankin' it with some doll
When a guy wears tails
With the front gleaming white
Who do you think
He's tickling pink
On Saturday night?
When a lazy slob
Gets a good steady job
And he smells of Vitalis and Barbasol
Call it dumb
Call it clever
But you can get odds forever
That the guy's only doin' it for some doll
Some doll
Some doll
The guy's only doin' it for some doll!
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