American songwriter (1910-1969)
Luck, be a lady tonight.
FRANK LOESSER
Guys and Dolls
A secretary is not a toy.
FRANK LOESSER
"A Secretary is Not a Toy", How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Oh! to be loved by a man I respect,
To bask in the glow of his perfectly understandable neglect.
FRANK LOESSER
"Happy to Keep his Dinner Warm"
The guy's only doing it for some doll.
FRANK LOESSER
"Guys and Dolls", Guys and Dolls
When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky
You can bet that he's doing it for some doll.
FRANK LOESSER
Guys and Dolls
Remember, about thirty-six years ago you and I met a girl named _____? She was symmetrical and well spoken. Not only that, but her father owned a chain of liquor stores, and she was reported as conveniently nymphomaniacal. Yet, as I recall, neither you nor I especially wanted her phone number. Maybe she was too wondrously neat, or maybe she was too predictably available, or maybe she gave the impression of being so vastly prized that we couldn't prize her at all.
FRANK LOESSER
letter to William Schuman, August 20, 1965
You know you've been mean to me
And you know when you're mean to me
How it always makes me wanna roam
And you know there's a danger
That some gentle stranger
Might pick me up and make me feel at home.
FRANK LOESSER
"Pet Me Poppa"
A secretary is not a thing
Wound by key, pulled by string.
Her pad is to write in,
And not spend the night in,
If that's what you plan to enjoy.
FRANK LOESSER
"A Secretary is Not a Toy", How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Brother, do you know a nicer occupation,
Matter of fact, neither do I,
Than standing on the corner
Watching all the girls go by?
FRANK LOESSER
"Standing on the Corner"
And the devil will drag you under
By the fancy tie 'round your wicked throat
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down
Sit down you're rockin' the boat!
FRANK LOESSER
"Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat"
I string sounds together. But to string them I have to remember a bunch of old ones I heard somewhere and then juggle them into a new rhythm and shape.
FRANK LOESSER
letter to Angel Steinbeck, A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life
Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling,
Never before were mine so strangely willing.
FRANK LOESSER
"Heart and Soul"
Me, I'm complicated. But it's a living, I tell myself. Also, every once in a long while this disease manages to produce a fine and beautiful truth--as (they say) some oyster illness makes the wondrously perfect pearl.
FRANK LOESSER
letter to Angel Steinbeck, A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life
See what the boys in the backroom will have
And tell them I'm having the same.
FRANK LOESSER
"The Boys in the Backroom"
How beautiful the days,
They come and go.
FRANK LOESSER
The Most Happy Fella
What I really have a sense of dismay about is that there is a center of anything. I think maybe Cleveland can use one. Also possibly Los Angeles needs informed cultural guidance and a place to go get it. But not New York. New York is a center, a world's fair, and a den of thieves, and a house of miracles.
FRANK LOESSER
letter to William Schuman, August 20, 1965
Brother, you can't go to jail for what you're thinking.
FRANK LOESSER
"Standing on the Corner", The Most Happy Fella
I hear music
Mighty fine music,
The murmur of a morning breeze up there
The rattle of the milkman on the stair
Sure that's music...
FRANK LOESSER
"I Hear Music"
I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China.
All to myself alone.
FRANK LOESSER
"On a Slow Boat to China"
You dogs are smart enough to know that worry is something you do with a bone, and let it got at that. Even Pavlov couldn't do any more than prove that your brain is in your gut--something that you knew all along.
FRANK LOESSER
letter to Angel Steinbeck, A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life