DONKEY SERENADE
(music by Rudolf Friml with Herbert Stothart; words by Robert Wright and George Forrest-from the 1937 movie The Firefly; learned in the late 1940s)
There's a song in the air
There's a light in her eye
(from miriam berg's folksong collection)
But the fair senorita doesn't seem to care
For the song in the air.
Oh, I'll sing to her mule
If you're sure she won't think that I am just a fool
Serenading a mule.
Amigo mio, does she not have a dainty bray?
She listens carefully to each little tune you play.
La bella senorita!
Si, si, mi muchachito,
She'd love to sing it too if only she knew the way.
But try as she may, in her voice there's a flaw
And all that the lady can say
Is Hee-Haw.
Senorita, donkey's feet are
Not as fleet as a mosquito, but so
Sweet like my chiquita
She's for me!
Although she may try to hide it, she cannot deny
There's a light in her eye.
Oh, the charm of her smile
So beguiled Don Diego that he rode a mile
For the charm of her smile.
Amigo mio, is she listening to my song?
No, no, mi muchachito, how can you be so wrong?
La bella senorita!
Si, si, la senorita,
She'd love to sing it too if only she knew the way.
Her face is a dream, like an angel I saw,
And all that my darling can scream
Is hee-haw.
Senorita, her feet are
Not so fleet as a mosquito
But so sweet like my chiquita
She's for me!
Ole!