The Saga of Jenny

About The Saga of Jenny

"The Saga of Jenny" is a popular song written for the 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, considered now as a standard blues. The music is marked "Allegretto quasi andantino"; Gershwin describes it as "a sort of blues bordello". It was premiered by Gertrude Lawrence in the role of Liza Elliott, the editor of a fashion magazine. In the context of the show, the song comes in a dream sequence in which Elliott defends her indecision about marriage by telling the tale of "a girl named Jenny/Whose virtues were varied and many—/Excepting that she was inclined/Always to make up her mind", until she "kicked the bucket at 76. " Jenny's decisive nature is blamed for multiple disasters, including forcing the necessity of the United States' Good Neighbor Policy. The moral of the song is "don't make up your mind." It followed the Danny Kaye song "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)", and in Kaye's original recording, he sings the passages about Liza Elliot's inability to make up her mind. more »

Year:

2003

3:15

190 Views

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There once was a girl named Jenny 
Whose virtues were varied and many 
Excepting that she was inclined
Always to make up her mind
And Jenny points a moral 
With which we cannot quarrel
As you will find

Jenny made her mind up when she was three
She herself was going to trim the Christmas tree
Christmas Eve she lit the candles tossed the taper away
Little Jenny was an orphan on Christmas Day

Jenny made her mind up when she was twelve
That into foreign languages she would delve
But at seventeen to Vassar it was quite a blow
That in twenty-seven languages she couldn't say no

Poor Jenny Bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
She lost one dad and mother
A sister and a brother
But she would make up her mind

In foreign languages, she couldn't say no

Jenny made her mind up at twenty two
To get herself a husband was the thing to do
She got herself all dolled up in her satins and furs
She got herself a husband but he wasn't hers

Jenny made her mind up at thirty nine
She would take a trip to the Argentine
She was only on vacation but the Latins agree
Jenny was the one who started the Good Neighbour Policy

Poor Jenny Bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
But passion doesn't vanish
In Portuguese or Spanish
And she would make up her mind
She instituted the Good Neighbour Policy

Jenny made her mind up at seventy-five
She would live to be the oldest woman alive
But gin and rum and whiskeyy play funny tricks
And Jenny kicked the bucket at seventy-six

Jenny points a moral 
With which you cannot quarrel
Makes a lot of common sense

Jenny and her saga
Prove that you are gaga
If you don't keep sitting on the fence

Jenny and her story 
Point the way to glory
To all man and womankind

Anyone with vision
Comes to this decision
Don't make up
You shouldn't make up
You mustn't make up
Oh never make up
Anyone with vision
Comes to this decision
Don't (don't) make (make) up (up) your (your) mind

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Gertrude Lawrence

Gertrude Lawrence (July 4, 1898 – September 6, 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in London's West End and on New York's Broadway. more »

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