album cover
Overture
321
Musicals
Overture was released on March 15, 1956 by Columbia as a part of the album My Fair Lady (Original 1956 Broadway Cast)
album cover
Release DateMarch 15, 1956
LabelColumbia
LanguageEnglish
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy
BPM

Music Video

Music Video

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
My Fair Lady Orchestra
My Fair Lady Orchestra
Performer
The Original Broadway Cast of "My Fair Lady"
The Original Broadway Cast of "My Fair Lady"
Performer
Franz Allers
Franz Allers
Conductor
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Frederick Loewe
Frederick Loewe
Composer
Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner
Lyrics, Composer
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson
Producer

Lyrics

Look at her, a prisoner of the gutter
Condemned by every syllable she utters
By right she should be taken out and hung
For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue
Heavens, what a noise
This is what the British population
Calls an elementary education
Oh, come, sir, I think you picked a poor example
Did I?
Hear them down in Soho Square
Dropping H's everywhere
Speaking English any way they like
You sir, did you go to school?
What do you tike me for, a fool?
No one taught him "take" instead of "tike"
Hear a Yorkshireman, or worse
Hear a Cornishman converse
I'd rather hear a choir singing flat
Chickens cackling in a barn
Just like this one
Garm
Garm
I ask you, sir, what sort of word is that?
It's "Ow!" and "Garm!" that keep her in her place
Not her wretched clothes and dirty face
Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?
This verbal class distinction by now should be antique
If you spoke as she does, sir, instead of the way you do
Why, you might be selling flowers, too
I beg your pardon, sir
An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him
The moment he talks, he makes some other Englishman despise him
One common language, I'm afraid we'll never get
Oh, why can't the English learn to set a good example
To people whose English is painful to your ears
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears
There even are places where English completely disappears
In America they haven't used it for years
Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?
Norwegians learn Norwegian, the Greeks are taught their Greek
In France, every Frenchman knows his language from A to Z
The French don't care what they do, actually
As long as they pronounce it properly
Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning
And the Hebrews learn it backwards, which is absolutely frightening
But use proper English, you're regarded as a freak
Oh, why can't the English
Why can't the English learn to speak?
Written by: Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
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