There's No Business Like Show Business

By Irving Berlin
1946

The ultimate ode to the glitz and glamor of stage and screen, penned by one of America's most cherished composers, and a man who knew its allure perhaps better than just about anyone. The song was the centerpiece of Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun, in which it was introduced by Ray Middleton, Marty May and of course the great Ethel Merman in the starring role of Annie Oakley. It has since become one of Berlin's most cherished standards, a rousing anthem to the business of entertainment.

Lyrics:

There's no business like show business like no business I know
Everything about it is appealing, everything that traffic will allow
Nowhere could you get that happy feeling when you are stealing that extra bow

There's no people like show people, they smile when they are low
Even with a turkey that you know will fold, you may be stranded out in the cold
Still you wouldn't change it for a sack of gold, let's go on with the show

The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the clerk
Are secretly unhappy men because
The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the clerk
Get paid for what they do but no applause.
They'd gladly bid their dreary jobs goodbye for anything theatrical and why?

There's no business like show business and I tell you it's so
Traveling through the country is so thrilling, standing out in front on opening nights
Smiling as you watch the theater filling, and there's your billing out there in lights

There's no people like show people, they smile when they are low
Angels come from everywhere with lots of jack, and when you lose it, there's no attack
Where could you get money that you don't give back? Let's go on with the show

(There's no business like show business like no business I know)
You get word before the show has started that your favorite uncle died at dawn
Top of that, your pa and ma have parted, you're broken-hearted, but you go on

(There's no people like show people, they smile when they are low)
Yesterday they told you you would not go far, that night you open and there you are
Next day on your dressing room they've hung a star, let's go on with the show!!

Recorded By:

Bernadette Peters
Judy Garland
Susannah McCorkle
Betty Hutton
Frank Sinatra