Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated.
Marlene enjoyed music and attended concerts. She was adept at playing the violin and piano. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Marlene had discovered the stage. Acting was to be her vocation. In 1921, Marlene applied for an acting school run by Max Reinhardt. She was accepted. She appeared in several stage productions, but never had more than a couple of spoken lines. In short, she wasn't setting the stage world on fire.
She attempted films for the first time in 1922 Her first film was So sind die Männer (The Little Napoleon) (1923) which was followed by Tragödie der Liebe (Love Tragedy) (1923). On this last project, she met Rudolf Sieber and married him in 1924. The union lasted until his death in 1976 although they didn't live together the whole time.
The remainder of her early film career was generally filled with bit roles. After being seen in the German production of Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) (1930) in 1930, Marlene was given a crack at Hollywood. Her first US film was Morocco (1930) with Gary Cooper, which was followed by Dishonored (1931). This latter movie had her cast as a street walker who is appointed a spy. The film was rather boring but was a success because of Marlene's presence. In 1932, Marlene filmed Shanghai Express (1932) which proved to be immensely popular, grossing $3 million. Once again, she was cast as a prostitute. The next film was Blonde Venus (1932) which turned out to be a horrible production. Her co-star was Cary Grant and once again she was cast as a prostitute.
During this period Dietrich had been typecast as a woman of low morals and she wanted different parts. Her chance came in 1939 in Destry Rides Again (1939) when she was cast as "Frenchy", a Western saloon hostess. This began a new direction for Marlene since it shed the previous typecasting. All through the 1940s, she appeared in well-produced, well-directed films such as Manpower (1942), The Spoilers (1942), The Lady Is Willing (1942) and Pittsburgh (1942).
Afterwards the roles came less frequently, perhaps one to two films every year. In 1945, Marlene didn't appear in any. She only made seven productions in the 1950's. Her last role of any substance was Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Despite the lack of theatrical roles, Marlene still made appearances on the stage. However, by 1979, she was a shell of her former self. After breaking her leg in one performance, she never made a go of it in show business again.
Spending the last 12 years of her life bed-ridden, Marlene died on May 6, 1992 in Paris, France of kidney failure at the age of 90.
The Surrey With the Fringe On the Top
Marlene Dietrich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 Marlene Dietrich is a song about a romantic outing in a beautiful horse-drawn carriage, called a surrey, with fringed curtains. The lyrics describe the excitement and anticipation of taking someone out for a ride in this beautiful carriage. The song praises the carriage's fine qualities, including its snow-white horses, yella wheels, brown upholstery, and genuine leather dashboard. The fringe curtains are mentioned throughout the song, fluttering in the wind and catching the attention of onlookers. The song also describes the sights and sounds that the couple will experience on the ride, including birds singing and cows mooing.
Line by Line Meaning
When I take you out, tonight, with me,
I am taking you out for a good time tonight
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be:
Let me explain how it's going to happen
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
You will sit on the back of a carriage pulled by white horses
In the slickest gig you ever see!
In the coolest carriage you've ever seen!
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
Animals will move out of the way as we approach
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the carriage
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When I take you out in the carriage with the fancy decoration on top
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
Watch the decoration on top flutter in the wind
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
When I drive these high-stepping horses
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop!
People will look out of their windows to see what's happening
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,
With curtains made of isinglass that you can roll down
In case there's a change in the weather.
In case the weather changes suddenly
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
Two bright lights on each side that wink and blink
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
There is no better carriage than this one
You c'n keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keer to swap
You can keep your carriage if you think I'd be willing to trade
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
For this fancy, small carriage with the decoration on top
Did you say the fringe was made of silk
Is the decoration made of silk?
Wouldn't have no other kind but silk
I want the decoration to be made of silk and nothing else
Does it really have a team of snow white horses
Are the horses really all white?
One's like snow, the other's more like milk
One of the horses is as white as snow, the other is a little less white
All the world'll fly in a flurry
Everyone will notice and be excited
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the carriage
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When I take you out in the carriage with the fancy decoration on top
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
When we start driving fast on the road
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Even the animals will be happy and dancing
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
Birds and frogs will sing along and the toads will hop around
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
The wind will whistle as we drive quickly
The cows'll moo in the clover,
The cows will moo in the fields
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
The river will make a soft, whispering sound
And whisper it over and over:
And make the same sound repeatedly
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wish this could last forever?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever?
Don't you wish this could last forever?
Don't you wisht y'd go on forever and ud never stop
Don't you wish this could last forever and never end?
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
In this fancy, small carriage with the decoration on top
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
I'm starting to get tired
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 home in the carriage with the fancy decoration on top
I can feel the day gettin' older,
I can sense that the day is coming to an end
Feel a sleepy head on my shoulder,
Feeling someone's head on my shoulder, getting sleepy
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
Getting drowsy and eventually falling asleep on my shoulder
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill;
The sun is setting behind the hill
The moon is takin' a header,
The moon is rising up high
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
Just as I start to think everything is quiet
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
A lark will start singing 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 my baby is having a good dream worth remembering
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin'
Slow down, horses, and keep moving forward
At a slow clip clop.
At a slow, steady pace
Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
Don't rush this experience, enjoy the fancy carriage ride
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein Ii, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind