His singing style, particularly for the blues, was strongly influenced by his idol, the American Blues singer Bessie Smith. While many British musicians of the time treated jazz and blues with almost religious solemnity, Melly rejoiced in their more bawdy side, and this was reflected in his choice of songs and exuberant stage performances. He recorded a track called 'Old Codger' with The Stranglers in 1978 especially written for him by the band.
Technically, Melly was bisexual, but moved from strictly homosexual relationships in his teens and twenties to largely heterosexual relationships from his thirties onwards. He married twice and had a child from each marriage.
He was still active in music, journalism, and lecturing on Surrealism and other aspects of modern art until his death, despite worsening health problems such as vascular dementia, incipient emphysema and lung cancer.
In addition to age-related health problems, Melly suffered from environmental hearing loss due to long-term exposure to on-stage sound systems, and his hearing in both ears became increasingly poor. On Sunday 10 June 2007, George Melly made an appearance, announced as his last ever performance, at the 100 Club in London. This was on the occasion of a fund-raising event to benefit the charity supporting his carers.
He died at his London home of lung cancer aged 80 on 5 July 2007.
Much of George's music was in collaboration with others and hence you will find him on last.fm often as "George Melly and..." rather than in his own name. Use the search facility to find many of the jazz bands he worked with
Anything Goes
George Melly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we've ofter rewound the clock
Since the puritans got a shock
When they landed on Plymouth rock
If today any shock they might try to stem
'Stead of landing of Plymouth rock
Plymouth rock would land on them.
Was looked on as something shocking
But now God knows
Anything goes
Good authors to
Who once knew better words
Now only use four letter words
Writing prose
Anything goes
If driving fast cars you like
If low bars you like
If old hymns you like
If bare limbs you like
If Mae West you like
Or me undressed you like
Why nobody will oppose
When every night
The set thats smart
Is intruding on nudist parties
In studios
Anything goes
When Mrs. Ned McClean God bless her
Can get Russian reds to yes her
Than I suppose
Anything goes
When Rockafeller still can hoard
Enough money to let Max Gordon
Produce his shows
Anything goes
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today
And black's white today
And days night today
And that gent today
You gave a cent today
Once owned several chateaux
When folks
Who still can ride in Jitney's
Find out Vanderbilts and Whitney's
Lack baby clo'es
Anything goes
When Sam Goldwyn
Can with great conviction
Instruct Anna Sten in diction
Than Anna shows
Anything goes
When you hear that
Lady Mendl standing up
Now turns a handspring landing up
On her toes
Anything goes
Just think of those shocks you've got
And those knocks you've got
And those blues you've got
From those news you've got
And those pains you've got
(if any brains you've got)
From those little radios
So Mrs. R.
With all her trimmin's
Can broadcast a bed from Simmon's
Cause Franklin knows
Anything goes
The lyrics to George Melly's song "Anything Goes" are a commentary on the changing values and morals of society. The song reflects on how times have changed, and how even the things that were once considered taboo are now widely accepted. The line "Times have changed, and we've often rewound the clock" acknowledges the cyclical nature of history, and how what is considered "shocking" is relative to the time and place in which we live. The reference to the Puritans landing on Plymouth rock is an allusion to the conservative and repressive values of the past.
The song goes on to give examples of the various things that were once considered scandalous but are now commonplace. The line "In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking" is a reference to the strict dress codes of the past. The line "Good authors too who once knew better words, now only use four-letter words" is a commentary on the changing standards of language and literature. The song also touches on topics like fast cars, low bars, nudity, and Communism, all of which were provocative subjects in the early 20th century.
Overall, the song "Anything Goes" is a satirical commentary on the evolving values of society. The message of the song is that there are no limits to what is acceptable or "normal," and that anything can be justified.
Line by Line Meaning
Times have changed,
The world is not the same as it used to be
And we've ofter rewound the clock
We have revisited the past
Since the puritans got a shock
Since the puritans were surprised
When they landed on Plymouth rock
When they first arrived at Plymouth rock
If today any shock they might try to stem
If they tried to suppress any shock today
'Stead of landing of Plymouth rock
Instead of them arriving at Plymouth rock
Plymouth rock would land on them.
They would be shocked themselves
In olden days a glimpse of stocking
In the past, glimpses of stockings were considered scandalous
Was looked on as something shocking
It was considered inappropriate
But now God knows
But now, who knows
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
Good authors to
Talented writers who
Who once knew better words
Who used to have better vocabulary
Now only use four letter words
Now use only simple words
Writing prose
When they write their stories
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
If driving fast cars you like
If you enjoy driving fast cars
If low bars you like
If you enjoy going to cheap bars
If old hymns you like
If you enjoy listening to traditional hymns
If bare limbs you like
If you like people with exposed limbs
If Mae West you like
If you like Mae West
Or me undressed you like
Or if you like me undressed
Why nobody will oppose
No one will protest
When every night
Whenever each night
The set thats smart
The fashionable crowd that
Is intruding on nudist parties
Is attending nudist parties
In studios
In the movie studios
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
When Mrs. Ned McClean God bless her
When Mrs. Ned McClean, bless her heart,
Can get Russian reds to yes her
Can persuade Russian communists to support her
Than I suppose
Then I can imagine
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
When Rockafeller still can hoard
When Rockafeller can still keep
Enough money to let Max Gordon
Enough money to allow Max Gordon
Produce his shows
To produce his theatrical shows
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
The world has gone mad today
The world is insane nowadays
And good's bad today
Good is considered bad these days
And black's white today
Things are reversed today
And days night today
Day and night are the opposite today
And that gent today
And that man today
You gave a cent today
To whom you donated a penny today
Once owned several chateaux
Once owned multiple castles
When folks
When ordinary people
Who still can ride in Jitney's
Who can still ride a Jitney (a type of small bus or car)
Find out Vanderbilts and Whitney's
Discover that the Vanderbilts and Whitneys (wealthy aristocrats)
Lack baby clo'es
Do not have enough baby clothes
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
When Sam Goldwyn
When the movie producer, Sam Goldwyn,
Can with great conviction
Can confidently
Instruct Anna Sten in diction
Teach Anna Sten (a Russian actress) how to speak English
Than Anna shows
Then Anna demonstrates
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
When you hear that
When you learn that
Lady Mendl standing up
Lady Mendl, standing up,
Now turns a handspring landing up
Now jumps up into a handspring landing
On her toes
Balancing on the balls of her feet
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
Just think of those shocks you've got
Just think of the things that shocked you
And those knocks you've got
And the difficulties you've faced
And those blues you've got
And the sadness you've experienced
From those news you've got
From the news you've received
And those pains you've got
And the physical pain you've felt
(if any brains you've got)
(if you have any intelligence)
From those little radios
From those small radios
So Mrs. R.
So Mrs. R.,
With all her trimmin's
With all her fancy accessories
Can broadcast a bed from Simmon's
Can advertise a Simmons bed
Cause Franklin knows
Because President Franklin Roosevelt knows
Anything goes
Anything is acceptable
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEROME KERN, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind