Why Don't You Do Right
Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman And His Orchestra Lyrics
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You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?
You're sitting there wondering what it's all about
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
If you had prepared 20 years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' out from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Like some other men do
The song "Why Don't You Do Right" by Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman and His Orchestra is all about a woman who is fed up with her partner's way of life. The song starts by addressing the man's past, mentioning that he had plenty of money back in 1922 but allowed other women to make a fool of him. The woman advises him to start doing things right, like other men do, and get out of her life if he cannot get her some money too.
The second verse is more direct, as the woman tells the man that if he continues to sit aimlessly, without any money, he will be kicked out of his house. She urges him to start doing things the right way, like other men do, and get her some money as well. In the third verse, the woman goes on to tell the man that if he had prepared for his future 20 years ago, he wouldn't be wandering from door to door in search of money.
The woman then reflects on how she fell for the man's deception and took him in. She is now left with nothing offering her only a drink of gin. She ends the chorus with a final plea, urging the man to do right, like some other men do, and get out of her life if he cannot get her some money too.
In conclusion, Peggy Lee's "Why Don't You Do Right" song is a powerful message to a partner who has failed in his responsibility to provide. The woman is tired of his deception and wants him to take action and be responsible for his future.
Line by Line Meaning
You had plenty money 1922
Back in 1922, you were wealthy and had a lot of money
You let other women make a fool of you
You allowed other women to take advantage of you and make you appear foolish
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Why don't you straighten up and act right, like other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too?
Leave and bring me some money as well
You're sitting there wondering what it's all about
You're sitting there confused, trying to figure it all out
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
You don't have any money, so they will kick you out
If you had prepared 20 years ago
If you had taken steps to plan and prepare 20 years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' out from door to door
You wouldn't be wandering around from house to house
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
I believed your smooth talk and allowed you into my life
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Now all you can give me is a simple drink of gin
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Why don't you start acting right, like other men do?
Like some other men do
Like other men behave
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Joe McCoy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kweejibodali3078
@SteveBowen that is fascinating and well put ; he is leaning so close to her that it can look like like either leering or cadging or grabbing limelight
But I can believe it that he was just so into the music
And was always studying others and therefore improving himself
And no one better than Peggy how she holds the attention
I really am here for her
❤
@miltonmoore8369
HOLY MOSES!
I AM 77 YEARS OLD, AND THIS WAS RECORDED THREE YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN! SO THIS RECORDING IS 80 FREAKING YEARS OLD!😬😳😟
BORN NORMA DOLORES EGSTROM, THE SEVENTH OF EIGHT CHILDREN, IN 1920, OF SCANDINAVIAN IMMIGRANT PARENTS, IN THE TINY TOWN OF JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA, SHE MADE HER FIRST RECORDING IN 1941. SHE DIED AGED 81 IN 2002 FROM COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES AND A HEART ATTACK.
WED FOUR TIMES,
SHE RECORDED OVER 1,100 MASTERS, AND WROTE 240 SONGS,
THE MOST WELL KNOWN BEING THE
LITTLE DITTY: "WE ARE SIAMESE IF YOU PLEASE" FOR THE WALT DISNEY
CLASSIC CARTOON FEATURE, "THE LADY AND THE TRAMP."
TRULY ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST LIGHTS AND MOST RESPECTED PERSONAGES IN THE HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC.
🌠Milton Moore🌠
@coppingtonfarnham7731
I went from 1943, listening to this recently..... to 2022 at a local gas station, where a car stereo was blasting what's not even sung, but popular/horrible now. Like my dad used to say, "I know all the words, but I don't use them."
Imagine what words they'd insert in this nowadays:
You had plenty money, 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
You're sittin' down and wonderin' what it's all about
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Like some other men do
@ClassyOldMusic
Thanks for introducing me to that Dave Barbour version. But It seemed like Peggy was getting as bored and sleepy as I was while struggling to get through it. You could see it, Especially in the shots where she's looking over toward Dave, looking like she couldn't wait for him to finish his anemic, lack-of-creative-spark solo bit. I always felt that music after '49 really began to go down the toilet.
By the way, before I forget, The camera work in this film was just above High School kid, amateur, and they mostly focused above her waist, or breast... and it seemed they only had limited movement or positioning of their equpment, or maybe because there wasn't anything worth filming... in fact, there was hardly any movement from Anybody! NO One Even Cracked a Smile, except for Peggy. Maybe because she knew she was getting paid for it anyway. There was no "Swing" or Life to any of this number at all. It's was more like some Bohemian bar scene than a Live Performance.
Look at this "Benny" number, Benny, Peggy, the Band, and the Audience are Swingin' Happy Cats! Any person with Any Life and/or Rhythm is going to have Fun with Benny's number... JUST Look at Benny! He IS the Quintessential Band Leader, Leading the whole Swinging Mess!
Maybe that's why Benny Goodman is known as The KING OF SWING! And, You can see in Peggy's body language and hear it in her voice, that she agrees and is adoring her Fun with Him too.
On a List of Top Ten Big Bands of All Time, where Votes came from Real Swing Loving, Band Knowing, People, Consistently, between the Top 2 Bands, The Benny Goodman Orchestra was #2 after Glenn Miller #1. Consistently.
The Dave Barbour Band isn't on Any List, about Anything, Anywhere.
Look at Dave in the Barbour version, jeeeze! he's not having any fun neither, and his sleepy one note picked off the simple scale guitar playing and solos are tired, droopy, weak, like he's annoyed with the whole project. That huge oversized guitar was way too much guitar for the work he was doing. Way, waaayyy too much tool for the simple job.
Everybody around him looks Grumpy! The Piano Player seemed like the only one with life in him but I felt like he was holding back from what he really wanted to paste onto them 88's. Peggy looks like she's just remembering she forgot to feed the dog before she left the house.
The Benny version, when played off my 78 RPM's lights up the room and the people in it, and makes 'em smile and laugh and say things like "they don't play 'em like that anymore"... I can play it over and over on my 1959 Telefunken Verdi Phonograph/Radio console (awesomely made in W. Germany) forever and people get a Kick out of it...
If I wanted to impress anybody with an old 78 RPM record, and try to Promote the Music of the Golden Era, (like I do!) and to keep it from dying, "Hands Down"! I'd play the Benny version, and No Way At All, for Any reason would I play that boring, Golden Era Killing, Dave Barbour lullabye.
"Get outta here, Give me some money too"
@cant144
"I knew I couldn't sing over them, so I decided to sing under them. The more noise they made the more softly I sang. When they discovered they couldn't hear me, they began to look at me. Then they began to listen. As I sang, I kept thinking, 'softly with feeling.' The noise dropped to a hum; the hum gave way to silence. I had learned how to reach and hold my audience -- softly, with feeling."Peggy Lee
@ruthiebelle1
A really smart girl to figure that out.
@upthedownescalator630
That's better than Hedy Lamarr who found out that "All a girl has to do to be glamours is just stand still and look stupid."
@williamheyman5439
And it was hard for her to look stupid, as she was a co-inventor of spread-spectrum radio, had a patent, and several inventions.
@RobCummings
Prettiest smack-down I ever saw.
@richardbenitez7803
Notice the super soft glance at here and there as if she singing just for you.... very brilliant. Perfect song forever
@kirkpatticalma7911
It almost shocks your ears to hear such a voice. So natural, so organic, and seemingly effortless.
@robertkemp8717
I know. I’ve already watched on repeat about six times. Breathtaking.
@gwynnielsen5081
If I had a choice, I would've been a singer in their era rather than ours. These people had such class.
@MJLeger-yj1ww
Peggy was only about 22 years of age here, and already a solid pro! One of my favorite female singers for all time.