15.4.07

You can pull all the stops out...

Till they call the cops out
Grind your behind till you bend.
But you gotta get a gimmick
If you wanna get a hand.
You can sacrifice your sacharo
Working in the back row.
Bump in a dump till you're dead.
Kid you gotta have a gimmick
If you wanna get ahead.
You can uh...You can uh...
You can uh...uh...uh...
That's how Burlesque was born.
So I uh...and I uh...
And I uh...uh...uh...
But I do it with a horn...
Once I was a Schleppa,
Now I'm Miss Mazzeppa,
With my revolution in dance.
You gotta have a gimmick
If you wanna have a chance!




stephen sondhiem is known for many, many musicals - sweeney todd, assassins, company.... what a lot of people forget is that he also wrote the lyrics for many other shows - west side story and gypsy being two of the biggies. the video above is from the movie gypsy. you gotta have a gimmick is my favorite song from it but there is a personal story that adds to my favoring it. back in the day, many, many many years ago, i tended bar in chicago. one evening chili pepper and a couple of the other performers from the baton came in. when i saw them i grabbed the gypsy disc and put you gotta have a gimmick on the turntable. chili came up to the bar and said, "michael, you're a bitch!" i said, "thank you" and bought them all cocktails. see... ya gotta have a gimmick...

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