In the episode about the 40's dance Mama and Fran are looking at a photo album. There is a picture of Mama's first record player. She states that they only had 1 record. I can't remember the name of it. It was an odd name. Does anybody know what the song was? :confused:

It was called "Begin the Beguine."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYHXTJxoZqo

"We begun that Beguine over and over and over again!"

So do you know what the song is about and who performs it?

I googled it and the song was written by Cole Porter. Here are the lyrics



Cole Porter - Begin The Beguine


When they begin
the beguine
it brings back the sound
of music so tender
it brings back a night
of tropical splendor
it brings back a memory of green

I'm with you once more
under the stars
and down by the shore
an orchestras playing
and even the palms
seem to be swaying
when they begin
the beguine

to live it again
is past all endeavor
except when that tune
clutches my heart
and there we are swearing to love forever
and promising never
never to part

a moments divine
what rapture serene
to clouds came along
to disperse the joys we had tasted
and now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
I know but too well what they mean

so dont let them begin the beguine
let the love that was once a fire
remain an ember
let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
when they begin the beguine

oh yes let them begin the beguine
make them play
til the stars that were there before
return above you
till you whisper to me
once more darling I love you
and we suddenly know what heaven we're in
when they begin
the beguine

I looked up what "begiune" is.


The beguine is a dance, similar to a slow rumba, that was very modestly popular in the 1930s, coming from the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the Martinique beguine is a slow close dance with a roll of hips[citation needed]. After Cole Porter wrote the song "Begin the Beguine", the dance became more widely known beyond the Caribbean. The song was introduced in Porter's Jubilee (1935), with a book by Moss Hart and added dialogue by Monty Woolley. Artie Shaw and his Orchestra had a top (#3) hit with an extended swing orchestral version in 1938.

There's no question in my mind that the writers had the Artie Shaw version in mind....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNcPnEc99UE

More than being a top 3 hit in 1938, it is an enduring classic from the swing era, so popular that it was still available as a 45 rpm re-issue fifty years later.