From “Stop, Look, Listen”, 1916.
Words and Music by Irving Berlin.
Copyright © 2 Feb 1916.
Sheet Music Image from Michael Deatz.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- The girls are over-dressing
It keeps the fellows guessing
I’ve heard them say the gowns today
Are really most distressing
Your ankle is detested
If you have over-dressed it
A man must see an inch or three
To keep him interested
An ankle now and then
Will catch the best of men
Refrain:
So take off a little bit
A tiny little bit and nothing more
Just raise your dress up a little bit
Don’t let it drag along the floor
Because a banker, a broker, a lawyer, a sport
They always look longer when dresses are short
So take off a little bit
If you don’t make a “hit”
Take off a little bit more
- You’ll be the main attraction
And put the boys in action
They’ll linger nigh, you’ll catch them by
Removing just a fraction
The chicken pickin’ jury
Will go into a fury
If they can’t see an inch or three
They all come from Missouri
‘Twas said by someone wise
“It pays to advertise”
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: