A popular song from 1916.
Words and music by Sammy Lerner, Buddy Fields and Richard A. Whiting.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
A monkey may look like a man
But still a monkey ain’t
A homely girl may look real cute
Behind a coat of paint
Don’t let the outside surface
Mean anything to you
My father was a traveling man
That’s how I know it’s true
Refrain:
It’s hard to tell the depth of a well
By the length of the handle on the pump
It’s hard to gauge a camel’s age
By the curl of the hair upon his hump
A girlie who may promise to be true to you
May be true to you and who knows who, do you?
It’s hard to tell the depth of a well
By the length of the handle on the pump
Verse 2
A number six may look like nine
When written upside down
And when a nine looks like a six
It’s even all around
Sometimes the one you’re trusting
Is just the one to doubt
I know I’m right, it’s my delight
To stand right here and shout
Refrain:
It’s hard to tell the depth of a well
By the length of the handle on the pump
It’s hard no doubt to figure out
Why a wise looking guy is just a chump
A Palm Beach friend may write “The water’s fine” sometime
Still he bathes in only beer and wine you’ll find
It’s hard to tell the depth of a well
By the length of the handle on the pump
Refrain:
It’s hard to tell the taste of the gum
By the way that it looks upon your shoe
It’s hard to find what’s on your mind
By the way that you say “How-do you do”
Some little chaps are mighty smart we know, but oh!
Great big saps from little smarties grow, and so
It’s hard to tell the depth of a well
By the length of the handle on the pump