Anything Goes (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Anything Goes" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for his musical Anything Goes (1934). The lyrics contain many topical references to its time.

[edit] Notable recordings

• Tony Bennett (w/ Count Basie and his Orchestra): Basie Swings Bennett Sings (1958)
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
• Recorded as a top 1967 Billboard pop hit by Harpers Bizarre, (#43 pop, #6 easy listening.)

[edit] In popular culture

• The song achieved a minor revival when it was used in the Monty Python's Flying Circus "Courtroom sketch". The Pythons also introduced a completely different song called "Anything Goes" by "the other Cole Porter". ("Anything goes in, anything goes out, fish, bananas, old pyjamas, mutton, beef and trout ...").
• In the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) visits a Shanghai club where Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) sings "Anything Goes" in Mandarin. The first part of the Mandarin lyrics is:

Yi wang si-i wa ye kan dao

Xin li bian yao la jing bao jin tian zhi Dao

Anything goes. ^[1]

• In Brian Friel's play Dancing at Lughnasa, "Anything Goes" plays on the radio in Act 2 and is then sung by Gerry Evans while dancing about in the back yard and lane. "In old times a glimpse of stocking, was looked on as something shocking... Now, Anything goes..." The song summarizes the theme of the play — times changing and the new world having an influence.
• In the Family Guy episode Brian: Portrait of a Dog, Lois sings the first lines of the song. "
• "Anything Goes" is used prominently in the 1972 film Sleuth, with main character Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) complaining that they "don't write songs like that anymore".
• Betsy Randle sang "Anything Goes" on a Boy Meets World episode, As Time Goes By.
• In the Torchwood DVD extras, John Barrowman reprises the song "Anything Goes" live on the set of Episode 12: Captain Jack Harkness, adding Torchwood-specific references.

[edit] References