It's Only A Paper Moon

Colin Perry

Does anyone have the chords for the verse of this song?

djangology

the transcription and the chords were in one of the issues of Flatpicking magazine... I have photocopies of it (only in emergency). You should be able to find it yourself with a little effort.

Jack

Colin,

When you write 'verse', do you mean this section?

I never feel a thing is real
When i'm away from you
Out of your embrace
The world's a temporary parking place

Mmm, mm, mm, mm
A bubble for a minute
Mmm, mm, mm, mm
You smile, the bubble has a rainbow in it...

If so, I'm looking. Let you know.

Best,
Jack.

Colin Perry

Jack--

Exactly. I'm bidding on a copy of the sheet music on e-bay right now, so if nothing else, they should be in there. I'm trying to pick the changes off of Ukelele Ike's version with Dick McDonough, but the changes he plays are too vague to really make out.

Quadropenta

http://www.songtrellis.com/picture$819

Quadropenta

Also:
http://harrybeck51.tripod.com/jazzstandards.htm

Jack

Quadropenta wrote:

http://www.songtrellis.com/picture$819
Also:
http://harrybeck51.tripod.com/jazzstandards.htm

I did see those, but neither one has the section Colin's after...he wants the verse, which comes before that. Historically, most jazz players dropped the verse and just played the refrain. An apropos example from Cole Porter:

VERSE:
I feel a sudden urge to sing
The kind of ditty that invokes the spring
So, control your desire to curse
While I crucify the verse
This verse I've started seems to me
The "Tin Pan-tithesis" of melody
So to spare you all the pain,
I'll skip the damn thing and sing the refrain...

REFRAIN:
The night is young, the skies are clear
And if you want to go walkin', dear
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely

I understand the reason why
You're sentimental, 'cause so am I
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely

You can tell at a glance what a swell night this is for romance
You can hear, dear Mother Nature murmuring low "Let yourself go"

So please be sweet, my chickadee
And when I kiss you, just say to me
"It's delightful, it's delicious, it's delectable, it's delirious,
It's dilemma, it's de limit, it's deluxe, it's de-lovely"

You can tell at a glance what a swell night this is for romance
You can hear dear Mother Nature murmuring low "Let yourself go"

So please be sweet, my chickadee
And when I kiss ya, just say to me
"It's delightful, it's delicious, it's delectable, it's delirious,
It's dilemma, it's de limit, it's deluxe, it's de-lovely"

Could that guy write a tune or what?
Best,
Jack.

trumbology

Jack wrote:

I did see those, but neither one has the section Colin's after...he wants the verse, which comes before that. Historically, most jazz players dropped the verse and just played the refrain. An apropos example from Cole Porter:
....

Could that guy write a tune or what?
Jack

Cole was probably the first of the 'golden age' songwriters I paid attention to. Words and music, the guy is hard to beat. On words alone, however, I'm also very partial to Lorenz Hart--he wrote some wicked funny lyrics. Like John Lennon, he tempered the overly-saccharine impulses of his partner (Richard Rodgers). But I digress.

Back to the 'verse' topic:

Occasionally a jazz player like the late Dexter Gordon will play the verse, but mostly verses live on in cabaret singer performances. The recent Billy Strayhorn biography talks about Billy's club hopping in Paris in the mid 1950s. In addition to the Club Saint Germain, Billy hung at the Mars Club:

"....A gathering place for song afficionados, the Mars Club was what the singers would call a verse club: instead of just starting with the chorus, you could do the whole composition, including the opening verse...."