I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side

By Arthur Schwartz and Johnny Mercer
1952

One of several songs Schwartz and Mercer wrote for the M-G-M musical Dangerous When Wet, a vehicle for celebrity swimmer Esther Williams that also starred Fernando Lamas and William Demarest. One of the catchier tunes produced by the very productive Schwartz/Mercer teaming, it was even used twice more by M-G-M in two of the studios' Tom & Jerry short cartoons, "Baby Butch" (1954) and "Muscle Beach Tom" (1956). This was a common practice of the time, as studios looked to repurpose songs that they owned. Interestingly, half a century later, the song would also pop up in another cartoon Disney's "Phineas and Ferb". Although not as often recorded as many other Schwartz/Mercer compositions, its bouncy tune and clever lyric make it an instant classic.

Recorded By:

John Pizzarelli
Philip Chaffin
Joyce Breach
Esther Williams