Why Don't You Do Right
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra Lyrics


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You had a plenty money 1922
You let other women make a fool of you

Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?

You're sitting down wondering what it's all about
You ain't got no money they will put you out

Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?

If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door

Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?

I fell for you jiving and I took you in
Now all you've got to offer me is a drink of gin

Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?

Why don't you do right




Like some other men do?
Like some other men do?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee's song "Why Don't You Do Right?" tell the story of a woman who is fed up with her man's lack of motivation and prosperity. The opening lines, "You had a plenty money 1922, You let other women make a fool of you," indicate that the man used to have wealth, but has since lost it due to his own foolish behavior. The woman is frustrated because she believes that the man could be successful like other men are, but instead, he sits around and wonders what it's all about with no money to his name.


She urges him to "get out of here and get me some money too" and implies that other men are able to provide for their women, but the man she's with can't seem to do the same. She expresses regret for falling for his charm and taking him in, but now all he has to offer her is a drink of gin. The chorus repeats the question "Why don't you do right like some other men do?" indicating that the woman is tired of settling for less than she deserves and wants her man to step up and provide for her.


Overall, the lyrics of "Why Don't You Do Right?" convey a sense of frustration and disappointment in a romantic relationship. The woman is tired of making excuses for her man's lack of success and wants him to take responsibility for his own life and their relationship.


Line by Line Meaning

You had a plenty money 1922
You used to be wealthy in the year 1922


You let other women make a fool of you
You foolishly allowed other women to take advantage of you


Why don't you do right
Why don't you behave properly


Like some other men do?
Like how many other men behave


Get out of here and get me some money too?
Leave this place and bring me some money as well


You're sitting down wondering what it's all about
You're confused and don't understand the situation


You ain't got no money they will put you out
If you don't have money, you will be thrown out


If you had prepared twenty years ago
If you had planned for your future twenty years ago


You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door
You wouldn't be wandering aimlessly from place to place now


I fell for you jiving and I took you in
I was impressed by your deceiving words and actions and allowed you into my life


Now all you've got to offer me is a drink of gin
Now all you can offer me is a cheap alcoholic drink


Like some other men do?
Behave like a decent and responsible man




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Joe McCoy

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@kweejibodali3078

​@SteveBowen that is fascinating and well put ; he is leaning so close to her that it can look like like either leering or cadging or grabbing limelight

But I can believe it that he was just so into the music
And was always studying others and therefore improving himself

And no one better than Peggy how she holds the attention

I really am here for her



@miltonmoore8369

HOLY MOSES!
I AM 77 YEARS OLD, AND THIS WAS RECORDED THREE YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN! SO THIS RECORDING IS 80 FREAKING YEARS OLD!😬😳😟

BORN NORMA DOLORES EGSTROM, THE SEVENTH OF EIGHT CHILDREN, IN 1920, OF SCANDINAVIAN IMMIGRANT PARENTS, IN THE TINY TOWN OF JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA, SHE MADE HER FIRST RECORDING IN 1941. SHE DIED AGED 81 IN 2002 FROM COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES AND A HEART ATTACK.

WED FOUR TIMES,
SHE RECORDED OVER 1,100 MASTERS, AND WROTE 240 SONGS,
THE MOST WELL KNOWN BEING THE
LITTLE DITTY: "WE ARE SIAMESE IF YOU PLEASE" FOR THE WALT DISNEY
CLASSIC CARTOON FEATURE, "THE LADY AND THE TRAMP."

TRULY ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST LIGHTS AND MOST RESPECTED PERSONAGES IN THE HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC.
🌠Milton Moore🌠



@coppingtonfarnham7731

I went from 1943, listening to this recently..... to 2022 at a local gas station, where a car stereo was blasting what's not even sung, but popular/horrible now. Like my dad used to say, "I know all the words, but I don't use them."
Imagine what words they'd insert in this nowadays:

You had plenty money, 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
You're sittin' down and wonderin' what it's all about
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Like some other men do



@ClassyOldMusic

Thanks for introducing me to that Dave Barbour version. But It seemed like Peggy was getting as bored and sleepy as I was while struggling to get through it. You could see it, Especially in the shots where she's  looking over toward Dave, looking like she couldn't wait for him to finish his anemic, lack-of-creative-spark solo bit. I always felt that music after '49 really began to go down the toilet.

By the way, before I forget, The camera work in this film was just above High School kid, amateur, and they mostly focused above her waist, or breast... and it seemed they only had limited movement or positioning of their equpment, or maybe because there wasn't anything worth filming... in fact, there was hardly any movement from Anybody! NO One Even Cracked a Smile, except for Peggy. Maybe because she knew she was getting paid for it anyway. There was no "Swing" or Life to any of this number at all. It's was more like some Bohemian bar scene than a Live Performance.

Look at this "Benny" number, Benny, Peggy, the Band, and the Audience are Swingin' Happy Cats! Any person with Any Life and/or Rhythm is going to have Fun with Benny's number... JUST Look at Benny! He IS the Quintessential Band Leader, Leading the whole Swinging Mess!

Maybe that's why Benny Goodman is  known as The KING OF SWING! And, You can see in Peggy's body language and hear it in her voice, that she agrees and is adoring her Fun with Him too.

On a List of Top Ten Big Bands of All Time, where Votes came from Real Swing Loving, Band Knowing, People, Consistently, between the Top 2 Bands, The Benny Goodman Orchestra was #2 after Glenn Miller #1. Consistently.

The Dave Barbour Band isn't on Any List, about Anything, Anywhere.

Look at Dave in the Barbour version, jeeeze! he's not having any fun neither, and his sleepy one note picked off the simple scale guitar playing and solos are tired, droopy, weak, like he's annoyed with the whole project. That huge oversized guitar was way too much guitar for the work he was doing. Way, waaayyy too much tool for the simple job.

Everybody around him looks Grumpy! The Piano Player seemed like the only one with life in him but I felt like he was holding back from what he really wanted to paste onto them 88's. Peggy looks like she's just remembering she forgot to feed the dog before she left the house.

The Benny version, when played off my 78 RPM's lights up the room and the people in it, and makes 'em smile and laugh and say things like "they don't play 'em like that anymore"... I can play it over and over on my 1959 Telefunken Verdi Phonograph/Radio console (awesomely made in W. Germany) forever and people get a Kick out of it...

If I wanted to impress anybody with an old 78 RPM record, and try to Promote the Music of the Golden Era, (like I do!) and to keep it from dying,  "Hands Down"! I'd play the Benny version, and No Way At All, for Any reason would I play that boring, Golden Era Killing, Dave Barbour lullabye.

"Get outta here, Give me some money too"



All comments from YouTube:

@cant144

"I knew I couldn't sing over them, so I decided to sing under them. The more noise they made the more softly I sang. When they discovered they couldn't hear me, they began to look at me. Then they began to listen. As I sang, I kept thinking, 'softly with feeling.' The noise dropped to a hum; the hum gave way to silence. I had learned how to reach and hold my audience -- softly, with feeling."Peggy Lee

@ruthiebelle1

A really smart girl to figure that out.

@upthedownescalator630

That's better than Hedy Lamarr who found out that "All a girl has to do to be glamours is just stand still and look stupid."

@williamheyman5439

And it was hard for her to look stupid, as she was a co-inventor of spread-spectrum radio, had a patent, and several inventions.

@RobCummings

Prettiest smack-down I ever saw.

@richardbenitez7803

Notice the super soft glance at here and there as if she singing just for you.... very brilliant. Perfect song forever

40 More Replies...

@kirkpatticalma7911

It almost shocks your ears to hear such a voice. So natural, so organic, and seemingly effortless.

@robertkemp8717

I know. I’ve already watched on repeat about six times. Breathtaking.

@gwynnielsen5081

If I had a choice, I would've been a singer in their era rather than ours. These people had such class.

@MJLeger-yj1ww

Peggy was only about 22 years of age here, and already a solid pro!  One of my favorite female singers for all time.

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