He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)
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"He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)" is one of the lengthier titles in the history of popular songs. The song was published in 1913, with music by Maurice Abrahams and lyrics by Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie.[1]
It was introduced in vaudeville by Adele Ritchie,[2] was a hit for recording artists such as Al Jolson in 1913, Billy Murray in 1914, duo Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter in 1951 and was revived by Bobby Horton in the Ken Burns documentary film Horatio's Drive (2003).
The title was essentially self-defining. The song poked fun at the trials and tribulations of the average young car owner of the 1910s, especially when he wanted to get down to some serious "sparking" with his female passenger.
Lyrics
- He'd have to get under—get out and get under—to fix his little machine
- He was just dying to cuddle his queen
- But ev'ry minute
- When he'd begin it
- He'd have to get under—get out and get under—then he'd get back at the wheel
- A dozen times they'd start to hug and kiss
- And then the darned old engine, it would miss
- And then he'd have to get under—get out and get under—and fix up his automobile.
References
- ↑ "He'd have to get under-get out and get under/Maurice Abrahams[sheet music]". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
- ↑ Jasen, David A. (2013). A Century of American Popular Music. Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-135-35264-6.