Happy New Year

Spike Jones and his City Slickers

(Happy New Year, happy New Year!)
This is my New Year's resolution
When my mother-in-law begins to yell and shout
Through the window I would like to throw her out
But I resolve not to do it. Here is why:
I'm afraid of hitting someone passing by
This is my New Year's resolution
When I'm at the movies watching a love scene

And a lady's hat is blocking half the screen
I resolve not to shout “Take off that hat!”
I'll remove it gently with a baseball bat
This is my New Year's resolution

When I take a lovely lady out to eat
And she orders caviar instead of meat
I resolve to let the lady have her fill
And of course I'll also let her pay the bill
This is my New Year's resolution

(Come on Sir Fredrick Gas, come on Sir Fredrick Gas, come on boy)

When I'm sitting with my wifey on a bus
And a dear old lady stands in front of us
I resolve to be a gentleman discreet
I'll politely offer her my wifey's seat
This is my New Year's resolution

(Hey! George Rock, how about your New Year's resolution?)
When my mother says come in, it's time to eat
And I keep on playing games out in the street
I resolve to rush right home now when I'm called
Coz' my pop just bought a hairbrush, and he's bald
This is my New Year's resolution

(Hey, Doodles Weaver, how about Professor Peedlebaum?)

On the radio this year, I hope to score
With some funny jokes you've never heard before
I resolve not to tell a corny joke
“Hello? What's that the church burnt down? Holy Smoke!”
This is my New Year's resu-revelation

(Hey Spike, how about Spike?)

In this coming year, I'm gonna be discreet
Have the Slickers playing music soft and sweet
I resolve to treat Tchaikovsky tenderly
And set his second movement off with TNT

(Happy New Year, Happy New Year)

Here's a resolution of all the City Slickers
We hope this coming year to bring you lot's more laughs and snickers, hah hee hee

Song Strips for small classes

Song strips are simply strips of card, one per line of the song. Shuffle them up and then give out one to each student. Students take turns reading their lines and asking questions if they have any problems with meaning. Repeat the process until all the strips are given out. Next find the title and put it at one end of the table as a starting point. Make sure everyone has their strips laid out so that all are visible and explain the idea of building the song up together. You can mention that you will play the song more than once. Keep playing the song until all the strips are in the right order or very nearly. Finally give out the lyrics sheet and play one more time as required.

Song Strips for large classes

Either put the students into groups of 4-6 and use multiple sets of strips or make one large set. Students aim to stand side by side and display each line in order. If necessary some students can hold two lines, one in each hand. Alternatively the students can aim to walk past a monitor who has a copy of the lyrics. If someone is out of order they can stand to one side and try again when the song is played again. Either way, make sure to go through the song one strip at a time randomly for reading and meaning before playing the song.

Alternative

As each verse is somewhat like a story and uses the rhyming pattern A-A-B-B-C it possible to give out all the strips and have the students assemble the verses before listening to the song. Then the task becomes to put the verses in order with the inbetween verse remarks and check the accuracy of each verse.

Commentary

The song was released in 1948 as the B side to the single All I want for Christmas (is my two front teeth). Listen to it on YouTube.

I think it is worth pointing out in this age of computer generated editing that the sound effects were all done live, in real time, in one take.

Put up 9th January 2020