The Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Charlotte Greenwood feat. Gordon Macrae & Shirley Jones Lyrics
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Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be:
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
In the slickest gig you ever see!
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
Nosey folks'll peek through their shutters and their eyes will pop!
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The dashboard's genuine leather,
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
In case there's a change in the weather.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
You c'n keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keer to swap
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
Aunt Eller:
Would y' say the fringe was made a' silk?
Wouldn't have n' other kind but silk.
Has it really got a team of snow white horses?
One's like snow,
the others more like milk.
All the world'll fly in a flurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
The cows'll moo in the clover,
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
And whisper it over and over:
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever and ud never stop
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
When we ride back home in the surrey,
Ridin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
I can feel the day gettin' older,
Feel a sleepy head near my shoulder,
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill;
The moon is takin' a header,
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'!
Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin'
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin' at a slow clip clop.
Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
The song, "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top," is from the musical "Oklahoma!" and was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. In the song, the character Curly takes his love interest, Laurey, on a romantic ride in a fancy carriage called a surrey with a fringe on top. Curly is proud of his rig and boasts about it, saying that other animals will scatter and people will stare as they ride by. The song has a playful and joyful tone, with mentions of chirping birds, mooing cows, and rippling rivers. Aunt Eller, a wise old woman in the community, also joins in on the conversation in the song, asking about the material of the fringe and the color of the horses.
The song's lyrics use vivid imagery to bring to life the experience of the romantic carriage ride. The lyrics convey a sense of excitement, joy, and pride in the attractiveness of the carriage. Curly's confidence in the surrey is palpable, and he wants to show off his ride to everyone, bragging that it's the best rig in town. The song also has a light and playful atmosphere, with mentions of animals jumping and dancing to the rhythm of the wheels and the fringe fluttering in the breeze.
Line by Line Meaning
When I take you out, tonight, with me,
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be:
I'm taking you out tonight, and you should know that it's going to be special.
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
In the slickest gig you ever see!
You'll ride in style behind a beautiful team of snow-white horses, in the slickest carriage you've ever seen.
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Small animals should run away when they see us coming in our fancy carriage.
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
Nosey folks'll peek through their shutters and their eyes will pop!
The fringe on the carriage will flutter, and people will be amazed when they see us driving by.
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The dashboard's genuine leather,
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
In case there's a change in the weather.
Our carriage is beautiful, with yellow wheels, brown upholstery, and a dashboard made of real leather. It even has curtains that can be rolled down if the weather changes.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
You c'n keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keer to swap
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
Our carriage is the finest around, with bright lights that sparkle. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Would y' say the fringe was made a' silk?
Wouldn't have n' other kind but silk.
Has it really got a team of snow white horses?
One's like snow,
the others more like milk.
The fringe on the carriage is made of silk, and the horses really are snow-white - one is as white as snow, and the other is more like milk.
All the world'll fly in a flurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Everyone will be amazed when they see us driving by in our beautiful carriage.
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
When we start driving, everything around us will come to life - cats and dogs will dance, birds and frogs will sing, and even the toads will hop.
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
The cows'll moo in the clover,
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
And whisper it over and over:
As we drive, the wind will whistle, cows will moo, and the river will sing a gentle song over and over again.
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever and ud never stop
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
Don't you wish we could keep driving forever, never stopping, in our beautiful carriage?
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
When we ride back home in the surrey,
Ridin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
As we ride back home, I can see the stars blurring a bit - it's a beautiful sight.
I can feel the day gettin' older,
Feel a sleepy head near my shoulder,
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
As the day gets older, I feel someone's sleepy head leaning against my shoulder, eventually nodding off and falling asleep on me.
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill;
The moon is takin' a header,
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
As the sun sets and the moon rises, I'm thinking about how quiet and still everything is - but then a lark will wake up and start singing in the meadow.
Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'!
Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin'
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin' at a slow clip clop.
Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
Quiet down, little bird - my baby is sleeping and having sweet dreams. Let's keep driving slowly, enjoying the ride in our beautiful carriage.
Writer(s): HAMMERSTEIN OSCAR 2ND, RODGERS RICHARD
Contributed by Adalyn L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.