From the film musical “The Band Wagon,” 1953
Words by Howard Dietz
Music by Arthur Schwartz
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
Everything that happens in life
Can happen in a show
You can make them laugh
You can make them cry
Anything, anything can go
Refrain:
The clown with his pants falling down
Or the dance that’s a dream of romance
Or the scene where the villain is mean
That’s entertainment
The lights on the lady in tights
Or the bride with a guy on the side
Or the ball where she gives him her all
That’s entertainment
the plot can be hot, simply teeming with sex
I gay divorcee who is after her “ex”
It can be oedipus rex
Where a chap kills his father
And causes a lot of bother
The clerk who is thrown out of work by the boss
Who is thrown for a loss by the skirt
Who is doing him dirt
The world is a stage
The stage is a world of entertainment
Refrain:
The doubt while the jury is out
Or the thrill when they’re reading the will
Or the chase for the man with the face
That’s entertainment
The dame who is known as the flame of the king
Of an underworld ring
He’s an ape who won’t let her escape
That’s entertainment
It might be a fight like you see on the screen
A swain getting slain for the love of a queen
Some great Shakespearean scene
Where a ghost and a prince meet
And everyone ends in mince meat
The gag may be waving the flag
That began with a Mister Cohan
Hip hurray, the American way
The world is a stage
The stage is a world of entertainment