(The Only Dance I Know)
From the musical “Mr. President”, 1962
Words and music by Irving Berlin
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
My youth was spent in the Orient
Where they never taught me to waltz
You’d be surprised when I exercised
It was never done to a waltz
It was done like this
But never to a waltz
Chorus
In ancient Siam, women like I am
Indoors or on the street
No woman dances with her feet
Egyptian, Persian, only one version
No other stands a chance
Feet are for walking, not for dance
To an oriental fiddle,
You can see them shake their middle
The feet don’t mean a thing
Middles are all they swing
Even an Egyptian mummy
Wiggles her tummy
Wiggles it so and so
That is the only dance I know
Chorus
A Greek or Roman with an abdomen
Could learn to do it, too
They all could do it, so could you
With Cleopatra, even Sinatra
would have enjoyed the view
He would enjoy it, so would you
You don’t need an Arthur Murray
Just a fringe that’s on a surrey
Will satisfy your needs
Dancing between the beads
Everybody shake your torso
Sexy but more so
Shake it, come on, let’s go
Let’s do the only dance I know