I was just looking through audition material and realized that I needed a patter song, and I just got really involved in my search and fell in love all over again with some great patter songs. what are all of yours? (maybe some of your suggestions can help me on my search for the perfect one...)
Mine are: Getting Married Today, of course, from Company If (You Hadn't But You Did), from Two on the Aisle Nina, from Sigh No More Babette, from On the Twentieth Century
A patter song is characterized by a very fast tempo and rhyming rhythmic lyrics.
"I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral, I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical; I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical, I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical, About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news, With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse."
COLONEL Take all the remarkable people in history, Rattle them off to a popular tune.
DRAGOONS Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
COLONEL The pluck of Lord Nelson on board of the Victory- Genius of Bismarck devising a plan- The humour of Fielding (which sounds contradictory)- Coolness of Paget about to trepan- The science of Jullien, the eminent musico- Wit of Macaulay, who wrote of Queen Anne- The pathos of Paddy, as rendered by Boucicault- Style of the Bishop of Sodor and Man- The dash of a D'Orsay, divested of quackery- Narrative powers of Dickens and Thackeray- Victor Emmanuel - peak-haunting Peveril- Thomas Aquinas, and Doctor Sacheverell- Tupper and Tennyson - Daniel Defoe- Anthony Trollope and Mister Guizot! Ah!
DRAGOONS Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
COLONEL AND DRAGOONS Take of these elements all that is fusible Melt them all down in a pipkin or crucible- Set them to simmer, and take off the scum, And a Heavy Dragoon is the residuum!
COLONEL If you want a receipt for this soldier-like paragon, Get at the wealth of the Czar (if you can)- The family pride of a Spaniard from Aragon- Force of Mephisto pronouncing a ban- A smack of Lord Waterford, reckless and rollicky- Swagger of Roderick, heading his clan- The keen penetration of Paddington Pollaky- Grace of an Odalisque on a divan- The genius strategic of Caesar or Hannibal- Skill of Sir Garnet in thrashing a cannibal- Flavour of Hamlet - the Stranger, a touch of him- Little of Manfred (but not very much of him)- Beadle of Burlington - Richardson's show- Mister Micawber and Madame Tussaud! Ah!
DRAGOONS Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
COLONEL and DRAGOONS Take of these elements all that is fusible Melt them all down in a pipkin or crucible- Set them to simmer, and take off the scum, And a Heavy Dragoon is the residuum!
-If (You Hadn't But You Did) "Two on the Isle" -Getting Married Today "Company" -Logic "Dance of the Vampires" -The Tea Party "Dear World" -The Story of Lucy and Jessie "Follies" -Bargaining "Do I Hear A Waltz?" -Why Can't We All Be Nice? "Goodtime Charley" -How Marvin Eats His Breakfast "In Trousers" -Carousel "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" -Franklin Shepard Inc. "Merrily We Roll Along" -She's A Nut "On the Twentieth Century" -Don't Ah Ma Me "The Rink" -Words, Words, Words "The Witches of Eastwick"
"Tchiakovsky (and Other Russians)" from Lady In The Dark is a classic example of a patter song. Danny Kaye would rattle off the names of 50 Russian composers in about 35-40 seconds.
In Let's Face It Kaye had another great patter song by Cole Porter called "Let's Not Talk About Love" where he raced through lyrics like...
Let's check on the veracity Of Barrymore's babacity And why why his drink capacity Should get so much publacity Let's even have a huddle Over Harvard Univasity But let's not talk about love.
"Tchiakovsky (and Other Russians)" from Lady In The Dark is a classic example of a patter song. Danny Kaye would rattle off the names of 50 Russian composers in about 35-40 seconds.
In Let's Face It Kaye had another great patter song by Cole Porter called "Let's Not Talk About Love" where he raced through lyrics like...
Let's check on the veracity Of Barrymore's babacity And why why his drink capacity Should get so much publacity Let's even have a huddle Over Harvard Univasity But let's not talk about love.
two more modern ones i enjoy- therapy from tick tick boom, and blood in the water from legally blonde (doesn't speed up but i've seen it called a patter song)
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
I've got an elephant's memory--however, for the life of me, I cannot memorize this song in its entirety. And this is from the girl who will make a happy hour out of memorizing Gilbert and Sullivan songs.