

About the Operas
by Jerome Kern
TIL GOOD LUCK COMES MY WAY
RAVENAL
The man who ventures with chance
Is the man who’s adding the salt, romance to a world
That otherwise is dark and drear
The sane conservative lot
Have their fate secure in a guarded plot of the world.
They’re welcome to their drab career
If I am losing today
I will take my loss and I’ll pay for I know
That in time my luck will turn.
It’s bound to turn
Till Good Luck comes my way
I’ll play along
While there’s a game on the highway
I’ll stray along
With just the turn of a wheel or the flip of a card as my guide
I’ll let fate decide
If I walk or ride
Why sit alone with your sorrow
And kill the day
There may be sunshine tomorrow
To fill the day
While I’ve a heart and a brain
And my ebony cane
I can borrow
Until the day when good luck comes my way
Never venture never gain
Men of caution it is plain
Live in vain
So I will wait till Good luck will come my way
BILL
JULIE
I used to dream that I would discover
The perfect lover
Some day
I knew I’d recognize him
If ever he came round
My way
I always used to fancy then
He’d be one of those God like kind of men
With a giant brain
And a noble head
Like the heroes bold
In the books I’ve read
But along came Bill
Who’s not the type at all
You’d meet him on the street and never notice him
His form and face
His manly grace
Are not the kind that you
Would find in a statue
Oh I can’t explain
It’s surely not his brain
That makes me thrill.
I love him
Because he’s wonderful
Because he’s just my Bill
He can’t play golf or tennis or polo
Or sing a solo
Or row
He isn’t half as handsome
As dozens of men
That I know know
He isn’t tall or straight or slim
And he dresses far worse than Ted or Jim
Oh I can’t explain why he should be
Just the one ONE man in the world for me
He’s just my Bill,
An ordinary guy
He hasn’t got a thing that I can brag about
And yet to be
Upon his knee
So comfy and roomy
Seems natural to me
Oh I can’t explain
It’s surely not his brain
That makes me thrill
I love him
Because he’s . . . I don’t know
Because he’s just my Bill