The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter

by Robert Kimball (Editor), John Updike (Foreword By), Cole Porter (Lyricist)

From "Begin the Beguine" to "It's Delovely" to "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "I Get a Kick Out of You," here are the complete lyrics to the much-loved songs of Cole Porter--800 songs meant to be hummed, sung, danced to, and remembered. "A record of (Porter's) artistic development and of the time in which he flourished."--Rhoda Koenig, New York Magazine.

Genres: Music, Poetry

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Robert Kimball (1939-) is a musical theatre historian and critic.

Kimball was educated at Yale College and Yale Law School and has been the music critic of the New York Post. He is the co-author or editor of several books on musical theatre.

Kimball was one of the four participants who hammered out a bipartisan compromise in October 1963 that helped lead to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This over-sized (and highly illustrated) essential to have book is sort of the last word on the genius of Cole Porter. A man I can't get out of my head while writing poetry. His lyrics are so multi-textual and strange enough over the so many years so insanely consistent in its quality - he's just an expensive piece of property with a beautiful park and the Manhattan skyline beyond that. When people ask me who my favorite poet is: the first thing that comes to my mind is Cole Porter.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in what is turning out too be an epic series of books and mainly edited by Robert Kimball and published by Knopf that attempts to gather together all the known lyrics of the major songwriters of what has become known as "the great American songbook." The later volumes deal with Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser, Oscar Hammerstein II and Johnny Mercer. I have read them all from cover to cover, admittedly a short piece at a time and use them all fairly constantly to research various songs, the only reason I left this volume until last was simply the fact that it took the longest to find, but thank you Abebooks!
Porter's lyrics are probably the most enjoyable to read even where the music is unknown, so many are bitingly humorous and can stand on their own without music. The very early pieces and there are a lot for instance the lyrics for collage shows seem endless and dull and many of the songs until well into the 1920's aren't particularly good, but his later work is of a much higher level. For me the best part of any of the complete lyrics books is finding extra verses and refrains to songs I already know in part, with Porter this happens more often than not, some songs containing a great many rarely recorded (if at all) sections.

[LeAnn Swieczkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The forward is worth reading for a bit of history and the lyrics are surprising. More lyrics exist than I would have thought possible for some songs, especially, You Are The Top, which has seven refrains. You Are The Top was published in 1934, and was first introduced by Ethel Merman and William Gaxton.

[Shirley Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rare and Beautiful...