The Saga of Jenny

Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin

[Intro]
There once was a girl named Jenny
Whose virtues were varied and many
Excepting that she was inclined
Always to make up her mind
And Jenny points a moral
With which you cannot quarrel
As you will find

[Verse 1]
Jenny made her mind up when she was three
She herself was going to trim the Christmas tree
Christmas Eve she lit the candles, tossed the tapers away
Little Jenny was an orphan on Christmas day

[Chorus]
Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
She lost one dad and mother
A sister and a brother
But she would make up her mind

[Verse 2]
Jenny made her mind up when she was twelve
That into foreign languages she would delve
But at seventeen to Vassar, it was quite a blow
That in twenty-seven languages she couldn't say no

[Chorus]
Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
To Jenny I'm beholden
Her heart was big and golden
But she would make up her mind

[Verse 3]
Jenny made her mind up at twenty-two
To get herself a husband was the thing to do
She got herself all dolled up in her satins and furs
And she got herself a husband—but he wasn't hers

[Chorus]
Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
Deserved a bed of roses
But history discloses
That she would make up her mind

[Verse 4]
Jenny made her mind up at thirty-nine
She would take a trip to the Argentine
She was only on vacation but the Latins agree
Jenny was the one who started the Good Neighbor Policy

[Chorus]
Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
Oh, passion doesn't vanish
In Portuguese or Spanish
But she would make up her mind

[Verse 5]
Jenny made her mind up at fifty-one
She would write her memoirs before she was done
The very day her book was published, history relates
There were wives who shot their husbands in some thirty-seven states

[Chorus]
Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
She could give cards and spadies
To many other ladies
But she would make up her mind

[Verse 6]
Jenny made her mind up at seventy-five
She would live to be the oldest woman alive
But gin and rum and destiny play funny tricks
And poor Jenny kicked the bucket at seventy-six

[Outro]
Jenny points a moral with which you cannot quarrel
Makes a lot of common sense
Jenny and her saga prove that you are gaga
If you don't keep sitting on the fence
Jenny and her story point the way to glory
To all men and womenkind
Anyone with vision comes to this decision
Don't make up
You shouldn't make up
You mustn't make up
Oh, never make up
Anyone with vision comes to this decision
Don't
Make
Up
Your
Mind!

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