Forty-Second Street

Written for: Forty-Second Street (1933)
Performer: Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell & Studio Chorus
Lyric: Al Dubin
Music: Harry Warren
Year: 1932
Original publisher: M. Witmark & Sons

Verse 1:

In the heart of little old New York,
You'll find a thoroughfare;
It's the part of little old New York
That runs into Times Square;
A crazy quilt that Wall Street "Jack" built,
If you've got a little time to spare,
I want to take you there;

Chorus 1:

Come and meet those dancing feet
On the avenue I'm taking you to,
Forty-Second Street.
Hear the beat of dancing feet,
It's the song I love the melody of,
Forty-Second Street.
Little nifties from the Fifties, innocent and sweet;
Sexy ladies from the eighties, who are indiscreet.
They're side by side, they're glorified,
Where the underworld can meet the elite,
Forty-Second Street.

Chorus 2:

Come and meet those dancing feet
On the avenue I'm taking you to,
Forty-Second Street.
Hear the beat of dancing feet,
It's the song I love the melody of,
Forty-Second Street.
Little nifties from the Fifties, innocent and sweet;
Sexy ladies from the eighties, who are indiscreet.
They're side by side, they're glorified,
Where the underworld can meet the elite,
Naughty, bawdy, gaudy, sporty, Forty-Second Street.

Chorus 2 (from movie):

Come and meet those dancing feet
On the avenue I'm taking you to,
Forty-Second Street.
Hear the beat of dancing feet,
It's the song I love the melody of,
Forty-Second Street.
Little nifties from the Fifties, innocent and sweet;
Sexy ladies from the eighties, who are indiscreet.
The big parade goes on for years,
It's the rhapsody of laughter and tears,
Naughty, bawdy, gaudy, sporty, Forty-Second Street.

Verse 2 (from British sheet music):

There's a lane in little old New York
That's paved with joy and care;
Ev'ry train that comes to old New York
Leaves all its dreamers there.
An avenue of dreams that you love,
There's an air of fun and laughter there
That hides the deep despair.

[Choruses]