Exit Music and

Notes on the Music


EXIT MUSIC - "You're the Top!"
Verse and Choruses 1-3 by Cole Porter
Chorus 4 (2004 update with Calliesque allusions) by Thantasy
Amanda's asides by Thantasy

[If this were a movie, the closing credits would begin to roll as....]

In the morning, Callie lays on her side and sings to Amanda.

Callie:
" 'At words poetic, I'm so pathetic
" 'That I always have found it best,
" 'Instead of getting 'em off my chest...' "

Amanda:
"And a nice little chest it is, too."

Callie:
" 'To let 'em rest unexpressed.
" 'I hate parading my serenading
" 'As I'll probably miss a bar,
" 'But if this ditty is not so pretty,
" 'At least it'll tell you how great you are.' "

Amanda:
"Do tell. Modesty was never my strong point."

Callie:
" 'You're the top! You're the Colosseum,
" 'You're the top! You're the Louvre Museum...' "

Amanda:
"Maybe the Tate Gallery."

Callie:
" 'You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss,
" 'You're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet...' "

Amanda:
"Oh, yes. The Bard."

Callie:
" 'You're Mickey Mouse.' "

Amanda:
"What? 'Squeak!' I don't think so."

Callie:
"You're the Nile, You're the Tow'r of Pisa,
" 'You're the smile on the Mona Lisa....' "

Amanda:
"I SHOW my teeth."

Callie:
" 'I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
" 'But if, Baby, I'm the bottom,
" 'You're the top!

" 'You're the top, you're Mahatma Gandhi...' "

Amanda:
"A pacifist?"

Callie:
" 'You're the top! you're Napoleon brandy...' "

Amanda:
"Prefer ale."

Callie:
" 'You're the purple light, of a summer night in Spain,
" 'You're the National Gallery, you're Garbo's salary,
" 'You're cellophane!' "

Amanda:
"Me clingy? Transparent? Well..."

Callie:
" 'You're sublime, you're a turkey dinner...' "

Amanda:
"That's YOUR role."

Callie:
" 'You're the time, of the Derby Winner,
" 'I'm a toy balloon that's fated soon to pop;
" 'But if, Baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!

" 'You're the top, you're a Waldorf salad...' "

Amanda:
"This song is making me hungry."

Callie:
" 'You're the top, you're a Berlin ballad.
" 'You're the nimble tread of the feet of Fred Astaire.
" 'You're an O'Neill drama, you're Whistler's mama,
" 'You're camembert.' "

Amanda:
"Got any crackers?"

Callie:
" 'You're a rose, you're inferno's Dante...' "

Amanda:
"Or the gatekeeper."

Callie:
" 'You're the nose of the great Durante...' "

Amanda:
"Everybody wants to get into da act!"

Callie:
" 'I'm a lazy lout who is just about to stop.
" 'But if baby I'm the bottom,
" 'You're the top!'

"You're the top! You're John Kerry's style.
"You're the top! You're John Edwards' smile.
"You're a winning play by Misty May and Walsh."

Amanda:
"Love their bikinis."

Callie:
"You're simply flawless.
"You're Lucy Lawless."

Amanda:
"Xena, not Callisto? Thanks."

Callie:
"You're hardwood mulch."

Amanda:
"That's a GOOD thing, right?"

Callie:
"You delight, like cappuccino,
"Or a night on the town in Reno.
"I'm a dangling shad, a really bad corn crop.
"But if, ‘Manda, I'm the bottom, you're the top."

     Embrace.
     Kiss.
     Fade to black.


NOTES ON THE MUSIC

Listed below are the Cole Porter songs that I have quoted from in CALLIE. Where possible, I have also listed the rendition of the song that I had in mind when I wrote it into the story.

Chapter One

"Night and Day" as sung by Susannah McCorkle on her album Easy to Love: The Songs of Cole Porter. Concord Records.

Chapter Two

"Just One of Those Things," Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

"Anything Goes," Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

Chapter Three

"Miss Otis Regrets" as sung by Bette Midler on her album Some People's Lives. Atlantic Recording Corporation.

Chapter Four

"Easy to Love," Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

Chapter Five

"You Do Something to Me," Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

Chapter Six

"Don't Fence Me In," as sung by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters on Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters: Their Complete Recordings Together. MCA/Decca.

"Love for Sale." I seem to recall having heard Marlene Dietrick sing this in some movie.

"Begin the Beguine." Excellent production numbers of this song have been performed in the movies Broadway Melody of 1940 with Fred Astaire (MGM) and Night and Day with Cary Grant (Warner Brothers).

"From This Moment On," Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

Chapter Seven, part 1

"Anything Goes," Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

Chapter Seven, part 2

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Susannah McCorkle, loc cit.

"You're the Top!" I don't know of any recording of the political lines quoted here. See "Exit Music" for more on this song.

"I've a Shooting Box in Scotland." I've heard a recording of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire singing this on a BBC tribute to Porter, but I don't know the source of the recording.

"Well, Did You Evah?" sung by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in the movie High Society (MGM). The verse about Professor Munch is not sung in the movie, but apparently was sung on an album of holiday music by Bing and Frank. It is also sung by Kevin Kline in the movie De-Lovely (Produced by United Artists, distributed by MGM).

"Let's Misbehave." De-Lovely is a wonderful movie that I highly recommend for many reasons. However, seeing and hearing Elvis Costello sing "Let's Misbehave" is worth the price of renting the dvd or video.

Chapter Seven, Part 3

"Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye," sung by Fred Astaire. Available on the cd "Let's Face the Music and Dance, Centenary Issue" from Academy Sound and Vision, Ltd.

Chapter Seven, Part 4

"We're We Fools?" Susannah McCorkle, loc. cit.

Chapter Seven, Part 5

Callie's "Amanda Medley" is drawn from "In the Still of the Night," "I Get a Kick out of You," "All of You," "Looking at You," "It's All Right with Me," "I've Got You under My Skin," and "Its De-Lovely."

Chapter Eight

"Farewell, Amanda," sung by David Wayne in Adam's Rib (MGM).

Exit Music

"You're the Top," sung by Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in this style over the closing credits of What's Up, Doc? (Warner Brothers).



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