Monday 1 October 2018

In twenty-seven languages she couldn't say "no"



WTF?! Back to work so soon..?

Hey ho - at least on this Tacky Music Monday we have a proper DAME to celebrate - Dame Julie Andrews, to be precise, who celebrates her 83rd birthday today!

What better way to celebrate than with a scene described by one critic in Retro Cinema magazine as:
"...involving a bullwhip, trapeze, flaming hoops, and bizarre circus costumes. It should be deliciously decadent - Andrews even performs a few circus stunts -  but like the rest of the film it somehow falls short of the mark, and is more strange than compelling."


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 you cannot quarrel
As you will find

Jenny, Jenny
Who's Jenny?
Never heard of Jenny!

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 tapers away
Little Jenny was an orphan on Christmas Day

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

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
To Jenny I'm beholden
Her heart was big and golden
But she would make up her mind

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

Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
Deserved a bed of roses
But history discloses
That she would make up her mind

Jenny made her mind up at fifty-one
That she would write her memoirs before she was done
The very day her book was published, history relates
There were wives who shot their husbands in some thirty-three states

Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
It's true, she could give cards and spade-ies
To many other ladies
But she would make up her mind

Jenny made her mind up at seventy-five
That she would live to be the oldest woman alive
But gin and rum and destiny, they play funny tricks
And poor Jenny kicked the bucket at seventy-six

Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find

Jenny points a moral
With which we 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

You know that Jenny and her story
Point the way to glory
For all man and womankind
Anyone with vision
Comes to this decision
You mustn't make up (You mustn't make up)
You shouldn't make up (Shouldn't make up)
Never, ever, ever make up (Never make up)
Your mind!


Dame Julie Andrews (Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (née Wells), born 1st October 1935)

10 comments:

  1. Hmmm... Ms Andrews playing against type always felt a bit wrong. Though I love the film Star! I especially like the portrayal of Noel Coward from Daniel Massey.
    Sx

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    1. At least she didn't get her knockers out (as she did in S.O.B.)! Little-known facts about Mr Massey: a) he was actually Noel Coward's godson, and appeared as a child alongside the Master in In Which We Serve; and b) he was not only formerly married to Penelope Wilton, but then went on the marry her sister! There's a story to be told there, methinks... Jx

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    2. Ha ha!! Your posts often lead me to spending several hours looking stuff up.... and today I read about Daniel's second marriage and his connection to Noel Coward. Wow, I wonder if Penelope Wilton was invited to the wedding?
      Sx

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    3. If she was, one could but hope she brought "Cousin Violet" with her to liven things up... Jx

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  2. Love her to bits.
    I even like the film 'Star' but have to admit that the film critic quoted does have a point " ...like the rest of the film it somehow falls short of the mark "

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    1. I never got on with the film Star!, but Dame Julie more than made up for the disappointment with her brilliant performance in Victor, Victoria. Jx

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    2. It's an absolute classic. Jx

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  3. Oh, happy birthday Dame Julie!

    Now, the pressing question is: Did she do her own stunts (because it certainly looked like it)?

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    1. She's always been a game girl - one never knows... Jx

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