The Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Dietrich Marlene 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!
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' 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! Did you say
the fringe was made of silk
Wouldn't have no other kind but silk
Does it really have a team of snow white horses
One's like snow, the other's 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 drive back home in the surrey,
Drivin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
I can feel the day gettin' older,
Feel a sleepy head on 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 Surrey With The Fringe On Top" by Dietrich Marlene is a playful and whimsical song about a romantic carriage ride. The singer is taking their date out on a fancy surrey with white horses, yellow wheels, brown upholstery, and isinglass curtains that can be rolled up and down if the weather changes. As they drive around town, the singer points out how the fringe on top flutters, causing people to stare in amazement. The birds sing, the river ripples, and even the cows moo as they pass by. The singer and their date enjoy the ride so much that they don't want it to end, as they feel the day getting older and the stars getting blurry.
This song is perfect for anyone who enjoys old-fashioned romance and whimsy. The vivid imagery and playful language paint a picture of a simpler time, where a carriage ride was the height of luxury. The song is also a celebration of the beauty of nature and the joy of being in love. Through this song, Dietrich Marlene encapsulates the idea of an idyllic date with their partner, bestowing a charming retelling of it.
Line by Line Meaning
When I take you out, tonight, with me,
When I take you out tonight, it'll be with me.
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be:
This is how it will go.
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
You'll sit behind a team of white horses.
In the slickest gig you ever see!
In a really nice carriage!
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
The animals will run when they see us coming.
When I take you out in the surrey,
When we go out in the carriage.
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When we go out in the fancy carriage with the fringe on top!
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
Look at how the fringe moves.
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
When I drive the high-stepping horses.
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop!
People will peek out of their windows and be surprised.
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The wheels are yellow, and the seats are brown.
The dashboard's genuine leather,
The dashboard is made of real leather.
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
There are curtains you can roll down made of clear plastic.
In case there's a change in the weather.
In case the weather changes.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
The lights on the sides of the carriage are bright.
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
I don't think there's a nicer carriage.
You c'n keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keer to swap
You can keep your carriage because I wouldn't want to trade.
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
For this shiny, nice carriage with the fringe on top!
Did you say the fringe was made of silk?
Is the fringe made of silk?
Wouldn't have no other kind but silk,
I wouldn't want any other kind of fringe besides silk.
Does it really have a team of snow white horses?
Does it really have white horses?
One's like snow, the other's more like milk.
One of the horses is very white, while the other is a little less white.
All the world'll fly in a flurry,
Everyone will be really excited.
When I take you out in the surrey,
When we go out in the carriage.
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When we go out in the fancy carriage with the fringe on top!
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
When we hit the road quickly.
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Animals will dance in the fields.
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
The birds and frogs will sing together, and the toads will jump!
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
The wind will make noise as we drive.
The cows'll moo in the clover,
The cows will make noise in the fields.
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
The river will make a soft noise.
And whisper it over and over:
And repeat it many times.
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wish we could keep going?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wish we could keep going?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever and ud never stop
Don't you wish we could keep going forever and never stop?
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
In this shiny, nice carriage with the fringe on top!
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
I can see the stars starting to become unclear.
When we drive back home in the surrey,
When we drive back home in the carriage.
Drivin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Driving slowly back home in the fancy carriage with the fringe on top!
I can feel the day gettin' older,
I can feel the day getting late.
Feel a sleepy head on my shoulder,
Feeling a sleepy head on my shoulder.
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
Nodding, drooping, and eventually falling asleep.
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill;
The sun is on the edge of a hill.
The moon is takin' a header,
The moon is heading downward.
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
Just as I'm thinking everything is quiet.
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
A bird will wake up in the meadow.
Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'!
Be quiet, bird, my baby is sleeping!
Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin',
Maybe the baby is having a dream worth keeping.
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin'
Stop, horses, and just keep going slowly.
At a slow clip clop.
Moving slowly along.
Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
Don't you hurry with the fancy carriage with the fringe on top!
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paul Padillo
Kurt Weill does Oklahoma!