Cole Porter Quotes

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.

Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and '30s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, Kiss Me, Kate. It won the first Tony Award for Best Musical.

Porter's other musicals include Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady, Anything Goes, Can-Can and Silk Stockings. His numerous hit songs include "Night and Day", "Begin the Beguine", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Well, Did You Evah!", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "You're the Top". He also composed scores for films from the 1930s to the 1950s, including Born to Dance , which featured the song "You'd Be So Easy to Love"; Rosalie , which featured "In the Still of the Night"; High Society , which included "True Love"; and Les Girls . Wikipedia  

✵ 9. June 1891 – 15. October 1964
Cole Porter photo
Cole Porter: 33   quotes 1   like

Famous Cole Porter Quotes

“In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking
But now, Heaven knows,
Anything goes.”

"Anything Goes"; there are also variants on this line which read "But now, God knows,
Anything goes", but the most common renditions are done with "Heaven knows"
Anything Goes (1934)

“I get no kick from champagne.
Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all,
So tell me why it should be true
That I get a kick out of you?”

"I Get a Kick Out of You"
Anything Goes (1934)
Source: The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter

“Too bad, I'm no poet,
I happen to know it, But anyway
Here's a roundelay
I wrote last night about you…”

"Ev'rything I Love" (1941)
Let's Face It (1941)

“You'd be so nice to come home to
You'd be so nice by the fire…”

"You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"
Something To Shout About (1943)

“The world admits bears in pits do it,
Even Pekingeses at the Ritz do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.”

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"
Paris (1928)

Cole Porter Quotes about love

“You'd be so nice,
You'd be paradise
To come home to and love.”

"You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"
Something To Shout About (1943)

“Some Argentines, without means, do it,
People say, in Boston, even beans do it.
Let's do it, let's fall in love.”

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (there have been many variant renditions of this song by various artists).
Paris (1928)

“You are my fav'rite star,
My haven in heaven above,
You are ev'rything I love.”

"Ev'rything I Love" (1941)
Let's Face It (1941)

Cole Porter Quotes

“So kiss me Kate,
Thou lovely loon,
E'er we start on our honeymoon.”

"Kiss Me Kate"
Kiss Me, Kate (1948)
Context: So kiss me Kate,
Thou lovely loon,
E'er we start on our honeymoon.
Oh, kiss me, Kate, Darling devil divine,
For now thou shall ever be mine.

“It must be fun to be you
And play with love as you do”

"It Must Be Fun To Be You"
Mexican Hayride (1944)
Context: It must be fun to be you
And play with love as you do
To treat each new romance
As merely one more dance
Or just another book to glance through
It must be fun to acquire
Whatever heart you desire,
And when you're bored with it
To tear it in two,
It must be fun to be you.

“Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don't fence me in”

"Don't Fence Me In" (1934) written for a never-released film Adios, Argentina, later used in the film Hollywood Canteen (1944).
Context: Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above.
Don't fence me in. Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don't fence me in

“What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?”

"What Is This Thing Called Love?" from Wake Up and Dream (1929)
Context: What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?
Just who can solve this mystery?
Why should it make a fool of me?

“Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above.
Don't fence me in.”

"Don't Fence Me In" (1934) written for a never-released film Adios, Argentina, later used in the film Hollywood Canteen (1944).
Context: Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above.
Don't fence me in. Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don't fence me in

“Be a clown, be a clown, be a clown.”

"Be A Clown"
The Pirate (1948)
Context: Wear the cap and the bells
And you'll rate all the great swells.
If you become a doctor, folks'll face you with dread.
If you become a dentist, they'll be glad when you're dead.
You get a bigger hand if you can stand on your head.
Be a clown, be a clown, be a clown.

“Wear the cap and the bells
And you'll rate all the great swells.”

"Be A Clown"
The Pirate (1948)
Context: Wear the cap and the bells
And you'll rate all the great swells.
If you become a doctor, folks'll face you with dread.
If you become a dentist, they'll be glad when you're dead.
You get a bigger hand if you can stand on your head.
Be a clown, be a clown, be a clown.

“This rule I propose,
Always have an ace in the hole. Always try to arrive at
Having an ace some place private. ”

"Ace in the Hole"
Let's Face It (1941)
Context: This rule I propose,
Always have an ace in the hole. Always try to arrive at
Having an ace some place private. Always have an ace in the hole.

“In shallow shoals, English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it.”

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"
Paris (1928)

“You're the smile
On the Mona Lisa.”

"You're the Top"
Anything Goes (1934)

“What moments divine, what rapture serene.”

"Begin the Beguine" in Jubilee (1935)

“If you want a future, darling,
Why don't you get a past?”

"Let's Misbehave"
Paris (1928)

“The chimpanzees in the zoos do it,
Some courageous kangaroos do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love. I'm sure giraffes on the sly do it,
Even eagles as they fly do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.”

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"; an earlier variant, rather than "Even eagles...": "Heavy hippopotami do it..."
Paris (1928)

“If you want to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs …
Love for sale.”

"Love For Sale" in The New Yorkers (1930)

“There's an, oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of me.”

"Night and Day" in Gay Divorce (1932)

“Electric eels I might add do it,
Though it shocks 'em I know…”

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"
Paris (1928)

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