II don't recall ever hearing better diction than that of dear old Noel Coward. So much talent wrapped up in one man. An all-round entertainer without equal.
@@richtrophicherbs Sorry to read that. It probably helps that I know the words quite well, having learnt them years ago in hospital awaiting an operation!! It is a great song. Best wishes.
@@richtrophicherbs All you need to hear and understand is the bit where he sings, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". Or, you can listen again and read the lyrics I have so generously provided just for you, below: PS: Climes means the climate of a region. In tropical climes there are certain times of day When all the citizens retire To take their clothes off and perspire It's one of those rules the greatest fools obey Because the sun is far too sultry And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts Because they're obviously, definitely nuts! Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun The Japanese don't care to The Chinese wouldn't dare to Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve 'til one But Englishmen detest a siesta In the Philippines they have lovely screens To protect you from the glare In the Malay States there are hats like plates Which the Britishers won't wear At twelve noon the natives swoon And no further work is done But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun It's such a surprise For the Eastern eyes to see That though the English are effete They're quite impervious to heat When the white man rides Every native hides in glee Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his sola topee On a tree It seems such a shame When the English claim the Earth That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho He-he-he-he-he-he-he Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it In Rangoon, the heat of noon Is just what the natives shun They put their Scotch or rye down and lie down In a jungle town where the sun beats down To the rage of man and beast The English garb of the English sahib Merely gets a bit more creased In Bangkok at twelve o'clock They foam at the mouth and run But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit In Hong Kong they strike a gong And fire off a Noonday Gun To reprimand each inmate who's in late In the mangrove swamps where the python romps There is peace from twelve to two Even caribou lie around and snooze For there's nothing else to do In Bengal to move at all Is seldom if ever done But mad dogs and Englishmen go Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday sun
He has never been surpassed as a comic songwriter in English. How remarkable that he should have mastered the performance of the songs, too, as here --- and could focus his performance so effectively within the narrow frame of the close-up camera lens. Also remarkable that he had so much lung power after forty years of smoking. He never looks tired; never steals a breath.
A genius. What he would have made of today's world I can easily imagine. He represents a time when to become a star one needed talent, and he certainly had it in spades. Probably the wittiest man ever, he certainly made the world a better place for many years.
It's all lyrical poetry, and always has been. The ancient Greeks would have considered him a barbarian, but they would have recognized him as a tribal singer, simply from his rhyme and meter. The same is true of Rap, they're all just stylistic differences on the same art form.
First time seeing this version . . . and I'm typing this from the floor! All of the ad-libbed lyrics, everything about this was hilarious! NOBODY singing his songs could top Coward himsel!
Sadly, this clip, for all its entertainment value, serves as a reminder of how unlucky I was to have been born in a time and place when I could not appreciate the brilliant talent of this man. But thank God videos like this one exist to expose us all to the rarest of treasures from times past.
Here are the Lyrics In tropical climes there are certain times of day When all the citizens retire To take their clothes off and perspire It's one of those rules the greatest fools obey Because the sun is far too sultry And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts Because they're obviously, definitely nuts! Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun The Japanese don't care to The Chinese wouldn't dare to Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve 'til one But Englishmen detest a siesta In the Philippines they have lovely screens To protect you from the glare In the Malay States there are hats like plates Which the Britishers won't wear At twelve noon the natives swoon And no further work is done But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun It's such a surprise For the Eastern eyes to see That though the English are effete They're quite impervious to heat When the white man rides Every native hides in glee Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his sola topee On a tree It seems such a shame When the English claim the Earth That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho He-he-he-he-he-he-he Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it In Rangoon, the heat of noon Is just what the natives shun They put their Scotch or rye down and lie down In a jungle town where the sun beats down To the rage of man and beast The English garb of the English sahib Merely gets a bit more creased In Bangkok at twelve o'clock They foam at the mouth and run But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit In Hong Kong they strike a gong And fire off a Noonday Gun To reprimand each inmate who's in late In the mangrove swamps where the python romps There is peace from twelve to two Even caribou lie around and snooze For there's nothing else to do In Bengal to move at all Is seldom if ever done But mad dogs and Englishmen go Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday Out in the midday sun
So "sola topee" is Hindi for pith helmet. I'm actually not sure what the inference is here of impaling a helmet ion a tree - maybe it just means hang their hat up and NOT go out in the sun? Or something more sinister like an Englishman still wearing the helmet while being impaled? Curious if anyone from this era knows?
@@steveliveshere I think it means simply that they hope the white man's dignity will suffer through having his hat knocked off by a low-hanging branch. (Try putting it in those exact words, and getting it to rhyme and scan - can't be done!!)
@@terryperring104 Poor Rap. Its simply in com prehensible. But old Noel Coward. Went down in a constant spiral. And ended up Teaching In high school. ruclips.net/video/qz1E303AwVQ/видео.html
One rapper Eminem doesn’t diss…. I’m sure that there was some miscommunication with the band as this is far faster than the recorded version That said, The Master doesn’t even break a sweat as he shreds his way through his signature tune
So fascinating to compare this version to the original from 1932, where he keeps the rhythm very regular. ruclips.net/video/BifLPGi4X6A/видео.html It's masterful the way he drags and pushes ahead here, but always lands with the pianist eventually - this would have been very carefully rehearsed. It's not the pianist catching up to him - the piano is fairly in tempo. It's Coward who is playing around with the rhythm. If you write the song, you have every right to play around with it!
Radio 4 watchdogs deleted a clip of him singing a few lines of the song,in a program about the structure of song lyrics,on the grounds that it “ reflected colonialism “ 🙄
Reasonable people can make allowances for things from an earlier time when casual racism was accepted. But I'm sure you really miss the days when you could use ethnic slurs freely and colonialism was considered normal behavior. So sad that the "good old days" are over, isn't it? All those uppity foreigners who don't know their place anymore.
@@premanadi Such arrogance from someone who knows absolutely nothing about me, “you assume much but know little” is a phrase the covers people such as yourself.
Maybe, though I think it's more likely to just be that the old video camera had a slow shutter speed, or something went wrong with the frame rate when it was transferred to film, etc. I don't know too much about old TV cameras, but I highly doubt Coward, or anyone back then, would have gone through the trouble to dub themselves in a TV broadcast after it had aired.
The piano player deserves an award for sticking with him through those deliberate out of time changes, that's talent.
Yes, very true. Whoever was accompanying Mr Coward was a true professional.
Thats some OG rapping right there.
II don't recall ever hearing better diction than that of dear old Noel Coward. So much talent wrapped up in one man. An all-round entertainer without equal.
I don't understand a word.
@@richtrophicherbs Sorry to read that. It probably helps that I know the words quite well, having learnt them years ago in hospital awaiting an operation!! It is a great song. Best wishes.
@@richtrophicherbs
All you need to hear and understand is the bit where he sings, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". Or, you can listen again and read the lyrics I have so generously provided just for you, below: PS: Climes means the climate of a region.
In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire
To take their clothes off and perspire
It's one of those rules the greatest fools obey
Because the sun is far too sultry
And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts
Because they're obviously, definitely nuts!
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The Japanese don't care to
The Chinese wouldn't dare to
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve 'til one
But Englishmen detest a siesta
In the Philippines they have lovely screens
To protect you from the glare
In the Malay States there are hats like plates
Which the Britishers won't wear
At twelve noon the natives swoon
And no further work is done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
It's such a surprise
For the Eastern eyes to see
That though the English are effete
They're quite impervious to heat
When the white man rides
Every native hides in glee
Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his sola topee
On a tree
It seems such a shame
When the English claim the Earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho
He-he-he-he-he-he-he
Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it
In Rangoon, the heat of noon
Is just what the natives shun
They put their Scotch or rye down and lie down
In a jungle town where the sun beats down
To the rage of man and beast
The English garb of the English sahib
Merely gets a bit more creased
In Bangkok at twelve o'clock
They foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit
In Hong Kong they strike a gong
And fire off a Noonday Gun
To reprimand each inmate who's in late
In the mangrove swamps where the python romps
There is peace from twelve to two
Even caribou lie around and snooze
For there's nothing else to do
In Bengal to move at all
Is seldom if ever done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday sun
@@listen2meokidoki264 fanx!
Noel Coward and Vivian Stanshall....two of my favourite English eccentrics.
If anyone can be described as The GOAT, (greatest of all time) it's Noel Coward.
Brilliant. Noel Coward was a rare genuine genus
These days a genius.
Is meaning less.
As the Woke amongst us insist.
Equality is something
No-one can resist.
This put such a big smile on my face.
Truly amazing. I have never seen Noel Coward before and wow, just wow!
What a legend 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
He has never been surpassed as a comic songwriter in English. How remarkable that he should have mastered the performance of the songs, too, as here --- and could focus his performance so effectively within the narrow frame of the close-up camera lens.
Also remarkable that he had so much lung power after forty years of smoking. He never looks tired; never steals a breath.
Tom Lehrer was funnier.
Agreed. Such a treasure.
You beat me to it! But they're both wonderful. How lucky that we can still enjoy such talent!
Spot on about his breath control! What an AMAZING demonstration!
His timing was immaculate.
His genius accompanist/musical director Peter Matz made Sir Noël's mischievous timing possible. All praise.
How on earth The Master can remember all the words singing live is extraordinary. From an old Rangoon dog.
The greatest rapper of all time.
A genius. What he would have made of today's world I can easily imagine. He represents a time when to become a star one needed talent, and he certainly had it in spades. Probably the wittiest man ever, he certainly made the world a better place for many years.
These days a genius.
Is meaning less.
As the Woke amongst us insist.
Equality is something
No-one can resist.
@@listen2meokidoki264 The song and its creator represent a generation and era that is complete anathema to the 'wokerati'.
Well, for starters, he'd write new lyrics for the title song of his hit show "Anything Goes".
Noel Coward was the key to the age of glamour . Pure genuis and class !
Rap before rap was a thing.
Better than rap
@@freddybloggs6324 Absolutely!
Cowards ditties are
Not actually in Rap
Since Rap is actually not a thing.
Unless talking is.
It's all lyrical poetry, and always has been. The ancient Greeks would have considered him a barbarian, but they would have recognized him as a tribal singer, simply from his rhyme and meter. The same is true of Rap, they're all just stylistic differences on the same art form.
"Something I tossed off in the Caribbean'.
Just don't take it out in public?
I remember at school our music master began every lesson singing and playing either a Noel Coward or Tom Lehrer song, fun times.
Sounds a great guy, your music master.
Noel Coward along with Peter Sellers and Benny hill pure comedy genius arguably the three finest comic character men that the UK has ever produced.
Neither of the other 2 you mention wrote their own material - Noel Coward was absolutely unique.
@@alidabaxter5849 Benny Hill did, he actually traveled around Europe getting his material first hand to use in his acts.
Absolutely tremendous, as you would expect from ‘the master’.
Always the Master!
First time seeing this version . . . and I'm typing this from the floor! All of the ad-libbed lyrics, everything about this was hilarious! NOBODY singing his songs could top Coward himsel!
Amazing classic.
Perfect. Fab!
A witful talent extraordinaire ...
Unique man - I love this ❤️👌
Certified hood classic 🔥
It’s complete true even today.
Sadly, this clip, for all its entertainment value, serves as a reminder of how unlucky I was to have been born in a time and place when I could not appreciate the brilliant talent of this man. But thank God videos like this one exist to expose us all to the rarest of treasures from times past.
Second that . . . .
Wonderful!!
The Guvnor, absolutely wonderful
Seamus
He was actually known as "The Master" with long A, sounding like Marster.
Here are the Lyrics
In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire
To take their clothes off and perspire
It's one of those rules the greatest fools obey
Because the sun is far too sultry
And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts
Because they're obviously, definitely nuts!
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The Japanese don't care to
The Chinese wouldn't dare to
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve 'til one
But Englishmen detest a siesta
In the Philippines they have lovely screens
To protect you from the glare
In the Malay States there are hats like plates
Which the Britishers won't wear
At twelve noon the natives swoon
And no further work is done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
It's such a surprise
For the Eastern eyes to see
That though the English are effete
They're quite impervious to heat
When the white man rides
Every native hides in glee
Because the simple creatures hope he will impale his sola topee
On a tree
It seems such a shame
When the English claim the Earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho
He-he-he-he-he-he-he
Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it
In Rangoon, the heat of noon
Is just what the natives shun
They put their Scotch or rye down and lie down
In a jungle town where the sun beats down
To the rage of man and beast
The English garb of the English sahib
Merely gets a bit more creased
In Bangkok at twelve o'clock
They foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit
In Hong Kong they strike a gong
And fire off a Noonday Gun
To reprimand each inmate who's in late
In the mangrove swamps where the python romps
There is peace from twelve to two
Even caribou lie around and snooze
For there's nothing else to do
In Bengal to move at all
Is seldom if ever done
But mad dogs and Englishmen go
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday
Out in the midday sun
@Sol Cutta
Where's the evidence?
@Sol Cutta I'm listening to what you're sating. But I only hear what I want to. ruclips.net/video/r8pnec4Hxps/видео.html
So "sola topee" is Hindi for pith helmet. I'm actually not sure what the inference is here of impaling a helmet ion a tree - maybe it just means hang their hat up and NOT go out in the sun? Or something more sinister like an Englishman still wearing the helmet while being impaled? Curious if anyone from this era knows?
Pure Brilliance!!
@@steveliveshere I think it means simply that they hope the white man's dignity will suffer through having his hat knocked off by a low-hanging branch. (Try putting it in those exact words, and getting it to rhyme and scan - can't be done!!)
Very good
I prefer it slower but it's amazing at this speed.
Hilarious. So clever...and spot on!
A pleasure
So true!
First rap?^^
But it rhymes.
God I love this man
@@listen2meokidoki264 Rap rhymes. Irritatingly so:- ''Rap Rhymes, it aint no crime, they do it all da time, it's really out of line..'' Like that.
@@terryperring104
Poor Rap.
Its simply in com
prehensible.
But old Noel
Coward.
Went down in a
constant spiral.
And ended up
Teaching
In high school. ruclips.net/video/qz1E303AwVQ/видео.html
@@listen2meokidoki264 You're tell us that normal Rap IS comprehensible?
Brings Back Wonderful memories of the Great Man.
Thank You. Will just have to Improve My English Pronunciation.
Bit Challenging, Ha! Ha!
grandioos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cool!
❤️
Behold! The inventor of Rap !
How did he do it? If you slow it down to .75 it is still impossible to keep up!
Rigorous training - plus constant practice thereafter - in vocal projection and diction. He made it look easy, but it sure ain't!
A genius.
One rapper Eminem doesn’t diss….
I’m sure that there was some miscommunication with the band as this is far faster than the recorded version
That said, The Master doesn’t even break a sweat as he shreds his way through his signature tune
Soo fast....but it is still good .
It’s still true
Noel has bars
That poor pianist...
It is very well rehearsed, and the out of kilter time changes are carefully planned.
So fascinating to compare this version to the original from 1932, where he keeps the rhythm very regular.
ruclips.net/video/BifLPGi4X6A/видео.html
It's masterful the way he drags and pushes ahead here, but always lands with the pianist eventually - this would have been very carefully rehearsed. It's not the pianist catching up to him - the piano is fairly in tempo. It's Coward who is playing around with the rhythm.
If you write the song, you have every right to play around with it!
500th like
Now THAT'S a lyric.
Genius ☕️ H 2 The Yes 🇬🇧
bars
I slowed it down to .75 and it was much better. I think this clip is sped up. And the sound and picture are not synced.
Here we have the original first rap rapper.
lyrics:
genius.com/Noel-coward-mad-dogs-and-englishmen-lyrics
Original rapper
What did he say?! 🤷🏼♂️🥵
Bit eerie actually
Warning: Rapid verbiage ahead!
Absolutely brilliant, I’m surprised no politically correct type has demanded videos of his songs be removed because they might insult somebody.
Radio 4 watchdogs deleted a clip of him singing a few lines of the song,in a program about the structure of song lyrics,on the grounds that it “ reflected colonialism “ 🙄
Reasonable people can make allowances for things from an earlier time when casual racism was accepted.
But I'm sure you really miss the days when you could use ethnic slurs freely and colonialism was considered normal behavior. So sad that the "good old days" are over, isn't it? All those uppity foreigners who don't know their place anymore.
@@premanadi Such arrogance from someone who knows absolutely nothing about me, “you assume much but know little” is a phrase the covers people such as yourself.
@@mrjockt Your words speak plenty about you.
@@premanadi As I said “you assume much but know little”.
Well slap me and call me Joe Cocker...Mad Dogs and Englishmen
These days a genius.
Is meaningless.
As the Woke amongst us insist.
Equality is something
No-one can resist.
It's the pianist I feel sorry for.
This should replace Rule Britannia on the Last Night of the Proms. Far more in keeping with the Boris Johnson world view...
BBC doesn't like this song!
excellent rapping. he needs a cooler name tho - like "MaDdz DogGz"
This is a certified empire classic
He’s like Eminem on steroids. Then again?????????
If one looks closely, it appears to be post-synced by Coward himself--not that that makes the performance any less fantastic.
Maybe, though I think it's more likely to just be that the old video camera had a slow shutter speed, or something went wrong with the frame rate when it was transferred to film, etc. I don't know too much about old TV cameras, but I highly doubt Coward, or anyone back then, would have gone through the trouble to dub themselves in a TV broadcast after it had aired.
No way, it's absolutely live. They didn't post-sync live TV in 1955. Didn't have the technology to do it.
Sounds speed up.
...it's the same Natives....pay no attention....
No one can do "Crazy," as well--- (or, with as much "High Class")---as The English...
Gonna tell my kids this was Tupac Shakur
Imagine this dude growling a muff!