Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Mel Torme & The Marty Paich Orchestra 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!
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
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 wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wishty'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 song "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" is a romantic ballad that describes a charming date night. The lyrics paint a picture of a dreamy night where the singer and their date ride in a sleek carriage pulled by white horses. The chorus invites the listener to see the beautiful fringe fluttering as the carriage glides down the street, causing onlookers to peek out in amazement. The song takes on a playful tone as it describes the details of the carriage, including the yeller wheels, and genuine leather dashboard. The song's melody conveys a sense of lightness and happiness, reflecting the carefree nature of the night out.
The second verse goes on to describe the surroundings as the carriage moves. The wind whistles, cows moo, and the river whispers a melody that blends perfectly with the lovers' journey. The song expresses a sense of timelessness, as the stars become blurry, the day gets older, and the sun sets. Even as the night progresses and the baby falls asleep in the singer's arms, the surrey with the fringe on top remains a magical component that makes the night unforgettable.
Line by Line Meaning
When I take you out, tonight, with me,
I want to take you out tonight and show you a wonderful time.
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be:
Let me tell you what's going to happen.
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
You'll sit in the back of a carriage with two beautiful white horses.
In the slickest gig you ever see!
It's the best and most stylish carriage you'll ever lay eyes on.
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
All the animals will move out of the way when they see us.
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in our carriage.
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When I take you out in our stylish carriage with the decorative fringe on top!
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
Look at the decorative fringe on top of the carriage and see how it moves.
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
When I drive those horses with such style and grace.
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop!
People will be curious and want to look at us from their windows.
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The wheels of the carriage are yellow, and the upholstery is brown.
The dashboard's genuine leather,
The dashboard is made of real leather.
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
There are clear plastic curtains that you can roll down if the weather changes.
In case there's a change in the weather.
Just in case the weather gets bad.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
There are two bright lights on the sides of the carriage.
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
I don't think there's a better carriage out there.
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 want to trade it.
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
For this beautiful carriage with the decorative fringe.
Did you say the fringe was made of silk
Is the decorative fringe made of silk?
Wouldn't have no other kind but silk
I wouldn't want any other kind of decorative fringe except silk.
Does it really have a team of snow white horses
Are there really two white horses pulling the carriage?
One's like snow, the other's more like milk
One horse is bright white like snow, and the other horse is white more like milk.
All the world'll fly in a flurry
Everyone will be amazed when they see us.
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in our carriage.
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
When I take you out in our stylish carriage with the decorative fringe on top!
When we hit that road, hell fer leather,
When we start moving, we'll be moving fast.
Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather,
Even the animals will be excited and happy.
Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop!
The birds and frogs will even join in on our fun.
The wind'll whistle as we rattle along,
We'll feel the wind blowing as we ride.
The cows'll moo in the clover,
Even the cows will be happy to see us.
The river will ripple out a whispered song,
We'll hear the gentle sound of the river.
And whisper it over and over
It will keep going and going.
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wish this moment could last forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever?
Don't you wish this moment could last forever?
Don't you wishty'd go on forever and ud never stop
Don't you wish we could stay here forever, never stopping?
In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
In this beautiful carriage with the decorative fringe!
I can see the stars gettin' blurry,
I can see the stars starting to look blurry.
When we drive back home in the surrey,
When we're riding our carriage back home.
Drivin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Driving our beautiful carriage slowly back home with the decorative fringe on top!
I can feel the day gettin' older,
I can feel the day starting to come to an end.
Feel a sleepy head on my shoulder,
I feel your head resting on my shoulder, you're so tired.
Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop!
You're falling asleep and slowly nodding off until you fall asleep completely.
The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill,
The sun is setting over the hill.
The moon is takin' a header,
The moon is coming out.
And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still,
As I'm thinking how peaceful everything is,
A lark'll wake up in the medder.
A lark will suddenly sing and break the silence.
Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'!
Be quiet, little lark, my baby is sleeping.
Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin'
Maybe my baby is having a beautiful dream worth keeping.
Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin' at a slow clip clop.
Slow down, horses, and keep moving at a slow pace with a gentle clip clop sound.
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Written by: ROBIN SPIELBERG, RICHARD RODGERS, OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind