a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 #

stephen sondheim - ten years old lyrics

Loading...

(a playground. the camera zooms in from above)

[girl on a seesaw]
seesaw, marjorie daw
i’ll be nine in november

[boy on a seesaw]
i was born in ’52
but i was too young to remember!

[girl skipping rope]
monkey, monkey, in the zoo:
tell us if you can, how old are you?

(counting her steps)

one
two
three
four
five
six
seven

[girl bouncing a ball]
a, my name is amy
my husband’s name is asa
i come from aiken
and i am eight!

[boy #1 on the jungle gym]
(to the tune of “this old man”)
ten years old, ten years old
i am almost ten years old
with a nick-nack paddy-whack
pickle with a beer
i’ll be ten in one more year

[boy #2 on the jungle gym]
when?

[jungle gym #1]
i’ll be ten in two more years

[jungle gym #2]
when?

[jungle gym #1]
i’ll be ten in two-and-a-half more years

[jungle gym #2 and seesaws]
ten years old, ten years old
you’re not nearly ten years old
with a nick-nack paddy-wack
meeny-miny-mo
who knew you ten years ago?

[jungle gym #1]
ten years old, ten years old
so i’m under ten years old
with a nick-nack
univac
marilyn monroe
who knew them ten years ago?

[girl #1 on a swing]
(to the tune of “london bridge is falling down”)
who had heard of salk vaccine?

[girl #2 on a swing]
dexedrine?

[girl #3 on a swing]
mister kleen?

[swings #1 and #2]
who had heard of fulton sheen
or “my fair lady”?

[swings and jungle gym #1]
under ten, under ten
lots of things are under ten

[bounce ball girl]
b, my name is bilko
my husband’s name is ben-hur
we drink bl–dy marys
and we’re both beatniks!

[jungle gym #2]
ah, your mother cheats at scrabble!

[swings and jungle gym #1]
lots of people
lots of things
lots of funny happenings
under ten
under ten
under ten

[skip rope girl]
rubirosa lost his head
how many women did he wed?
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
eleven
twelve

[bounce ball girl]
f, my name is fabian
my husband’s name is faubus
we come from the ford foundation
and we eat frozen foods!

[seesaw girl]
oh, dear, who can this n-sser be?

[seesaw boy]
oh, dear, who can this n-sser be?

[seesaw girl]
oh, dear, who can this n-sser be?

[both]
him and his suez c-n-l!

[jungle gym #2]
ah, your father drives a kaiser-frazer!

[swing #1]
(to “london bridge”)
rock ‘n’ roll and wash ‘n’ wear
brussels fair
“you are there”

[skip rope girl]
uptown, downtown
i declare
how much is the subway fare?
five
ten
fifteen
twenty
twenty-five
thirty
thirty-five

[tricycle boy]
a-tiska, a-taska
is kiska in alaska?

[seesaw #1]
(to the tune of “frère jacques”)
suzy parker, suzy parker
desilu, desilu
hi-ya, judge medina
gimme a subpoena
rudolf bing, rudolf bing

[all]
ten years old, ten years old
look what’s under ten years old
with a bozak double-track stereo machine
dead sea scrolls and wide wide-screen

ten years old, ten years old
look what’s under ten years old
with a jick jack kerouac, general de gaulle
castro and cholesterol!

[skip rope girl]
charlie on a woodpile, charlie on a quiz
tell him in advance what the answer is!
one thousand
two thousand
four thousand
eight thousand
sixteen thousand
thirty-two thousand
sixty-four thousand
one hundred twenty-eight thousand

[bounce ball girl]
k, my name is kukla
my husband’s name’s kefauver
we come from korea
and we use credit cards!

[seesaw girl]
elvis pelvis, puddin ‘n’ pie
wiggled at the girls and made them cry
deedle deedle dumpling, juan perón
all alone by the telephone

[jungle gym #2]
ah, your sister wears a sack dress!

[swings]
stop recession
stop inflation
automation
segregation
stop the overpopulation
stop jane mansfield!

[bounce ball girl]
s, my name is sagan
my husband’s willie sutton
we come from “the sea around us”
and we are sick, sick, sick!

[seesaw boy]
there was an old fellow named premier nehru
he had so many hindus, he didn’t know what to do

[seesaw girl]
conrad hilton, have you any rooms?
yes sir, yes sir, we have a lovely suite at the istanbul hilton…

[jungle gym #2]
ah, your brother’s still reading “the caine mutiny”!

[swings]
three gabors
three gabors
see how they run
see how they run

[swing #1]
hungarian accents and marital strife

[swing #2]
with ever new year, they’re another one’s wife

[swing #3]
did you ever see such a mess in your life

[all three]
as there gabors?
three gabors?

[skip rope girl]
rocket be good or rocket be bad
but rocket, get off the launching pad!
ten
nine
eight
seven
six
five
four
three
two
one
blast off!

[tricycle boy]
twinkle, twinkle, little stars
which is “vanguard”, which is mars?

[all]
under ten
under ten
all the way from “angry young men”
to zen!

ten years old, ten years old
what a decade, ten years old
with a nick-nack paddy-whack
here we go again
starting on another ten!

ten years old, ten years old
what a decade, ten years old
with a nick-nack paddy-whack who can go to bed
when the future lies ahead?

ten years old, ten years old
comin’ at ya, ten years old
with a nick-nack paddy-whack comin’ on the run
we have only just begun
wait til 1961!

[sip rope girl]
’62!
’63!
’64…

(a gradual fadeout of the kids’ singing as they continue)

[tricycle boy]
good night
sleep tight
don’t let the u.n. fight

(the camera pulls up to its position at the start of the song, then keeps pulling up and up into the sky as the playground becomes just a blip on the globe)

- stephen sondheim lyrics

Random Lyrics

HOT LYRICS

Loading...