A Song Is Born Page #2

- Yes, Miss Totten?

- Professor, the work at the foundation

must continue. I'll see to that.

- Miss Totten, you forgot your...

- Oh, thank you.

- ... bag.

- Goodbye, Professor.

- Goodbye.

- And thank you.

I enjoyed every second of it.

Miss Totten, you know that

your previous intentions...

A most amazing performance, Frisbee.

We are very much

indebted to you, Frisbee.

I don't know, gentlemen. I don't know.

- You don't understand...

- I don't know whether our behavior

was in keeping with the seriousness

of our work.

- Oh, well, I...

- However, I do feel our actions

- were justified in the...

- We beg your pardon, gentlemen.

Yes, sir, indeed.

- We hope you don't mind.

- We came through the window.

Who are you?

- We're the window washers.

- The window washers.

- What is it you want?

Well, you gentlemen are long hairs,

aren't you?

I hadn't noticed.

- Our hair is not particularly long.

This place's got some connection

with music, ain't it?

Well, some.

We've been washing on the other side

for a couple of days and listening to you.

We figured maybe you could help us out.

- In what way?

- With this quiz program on the radio.

What is it?

It's a musical quiz.

It has questions and answers,

and you got to play the tune.

Maybe we should have got a radio.

Well, just what is your trouble?

Well, I can play the answers,

if I knew the answers.

But he can't play them

if he don't know them.

- That's logical.

- Have you got the questions with you?

- Sure, he's got them.

- Yes, here it is, right here.

Question... First question is number one.

And it says,

"What eminent contra... Contra... "

"What eminent contrapuntalist literally

gave his name to a musical work?"

- That is obvious.

- That would be my department.

- Johann Sebastian Bach.

- Please to meet you.

- How do you do?

- How are you, Mr. Bach?

How do you do, Mr. Bach?

I'm not Mr. Bach.

Mr. Bach was born

in Eisenach in Germany,

in the year 1750 and died in 1685.

Are you sure about that, mister?

Yes, I'm sure he died.

They buried him on account of that.

Well, the way you got it,

he didn't even get born.

Well, maybe I'm wrong.

He was born in 1685 and died in 1750.

Mr. Bach wrote beautiful music.

Beautiful music.

- He makes good beer, too.

- That so? I didn't know that. Yeah.

The composition referred to

is a fugue written by Mr. Bach

with the letters of his name B flat,

A, C, and B natural.

B- A-C-B? Bach?

That doesn't sound right, does it?

I'm asking you.

The Germans, of course,

use the letter H for our B natural,

meaning B flat when they say B.

- Mister, I don't need all of that.

- He just needs to know the tune.

You mean just a few bars for recognition?

- That's it.

- I'd be very happy to play it for you.

- There you are.

- Is that all there is to it?

That's all there is, just the four notes.

Well, I'm going to lay some stuff

with my left hand on the bass here.

When I give you the nod with my head,

you give me them four notes up there.

Very good.

- Most unusual.

- It's amazing.

A very remarkable construction

in the bass pattern.

- You think so?

- I'd like to hear more of it.

I can't do much with this Bach guy.

No, he's too square.

Maybe the next cat's

got a little more beat.

- Who's got the next question?

- He's got them over there.

Frisbee, the second question please.

Oh, yes, right here.

"What bit of African terpsichore

"came from the pen

of a Norwegian composer?"

- That would be you, Gerkikoff.

- That is easy.

That would be Anitra's Dance.

You know the melody, Magenbruch.

Yes, I know it.

Anitra's dance is from Grieg's

incidental music for Ibsen's Peer Gynt.

Would you like to play it for us,

Magenbruch?

Lovely melody.

I heard that before.

Would you play it again for me, please?

It will be interesting to note

what he accomplishes with this one.

- Yes, that's right.

- I think I got it now.

Play it once more for me.

Very good. Very good.

Well, it reminds me of

the chaconne or passacaglia.

Except that the amazing variations

on the melody

depend so much on their peculiar

passing tones

- and leading notes.

- I noticed a definite resemblance.

It is curious combination of harmonium...

It moves constantly

on the tonic and subdominant.

Particularly noticed

the double quadruple figuration.

- I didn't do all of that, did I?

- That's just plain boogie-woogie.

- Boogie-woogie. What's that?

- You never heard of that?

Never heard of boogie-woogie?

Well, you see, we've been

shut in here for a long time.

- Too long.

- Has this boogie-woogie

been going on for some time?

Man alive!

And are there any other forms

of this new folk music besides that?

- Sure. There's swing, jive, jump...

- Blues, two-beat Dixie, rebop and...

What's that?

- Rebop.

- Amazing.

Did you hear that, Professor Frisbee?

And your book on folk music

is almost finished.

Gentlemen, I'm an idiot. An absolute idiot.

And I'm terribly grateful to both of you

for making me aware of it.

Do you realize that since

we've been cooped up here,

music has changed

and changed considerably?

I've been completely unaware

of this situation.

However, I intend to

rectify it immediately.

- What are you going to do?

- I don't know. I don't know.

I think perhaps the only solution is...

- Gentlemen, I am going out.

- Out?

- Where?

- Out. Out into the world.

Out of this house. Out to tap

the major sources of this new music.

- Woogie-boogie?

- Two-beat Dixie?

- Jump?

- Jive?

- Swing?

- Blues?

Rebop.

- Exactly. And I should be leaving now.

- He's going out.

- I should like to go, too.

- Frisbee, could I go with you?

Why couldn't we all go?

- Yes, Frisbee, why couldn't we?

- No, really. Please, gentlemen.

As much as I would love to have you

come along, it was my oversight,

and you'd be losing a full day's work.

After all, this is my field.

Just where would you go, Frisbee?

I'm going out to the nightclubs,

the dance halls.

- Yes, even the honky-tonks.

- Aren't you frightened?

- No, I... Well, goodbye, Elfini.

- Goodbye, Frisbee.

- Good luck.

- Goodbye, my boy.

Good luck to you.

Oh, would you mind leaving the key

under the mat?

I may not be home until 9:00 this evening.

- Goodbye.

- Goodbye.

Goodbye.

I'm worried about the whole thing.

Hiya, bud.

I beg your pardon, could you tell me

what time the music starts?

You're pretty early, fella. This joint

don't open for another couple of hours.

Another couple of... Thank you, thank you.

- How do you do, Mr...

- Mel Powell.

Mel Powell. How do you do? My name is...

- Frisbee.

- Frisbee.

And this card is self explanatory,

Mr. Powell.

We're conducting a round table research.

We'd like very much for you to attend...

Blind man stood on the way

and cried!

The blind man stood on the way

and cried!

Cried

Well, old blind Barnabas

Stood on the way

Blind Barnabas stood on the way

Well, old blind Barnabas

Stood on the way crying

Oh, Lordie have mercy on me

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes