Historic Sheet Music Collection
Title
Document Type
Score
Links to Recordings at the Internet Archive
Publication Date
1917
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
The modern wife leads a dreadful life,
That seems the modern fashion.
For wicked ways
And cabarets,
She seems to have a passion.
I never shall be up-to-date,
That sort of thing,
I know I’d hate.
So
[Refrain]
I want to be a good little wife
In the good old fashioned way
I’ll honor and obey
From my home I’ll never stray.
Although the thing that’s smart, is
To be out all night at parties,
I’ll be sitting
With my knitting
In the good old fashioned way.
I want to be a good little wife
In the good old fashioned way.
Forever and a day,
Till our two heads are bent and gray.
Through days serene and stormy
There will be but one man for me,
And we’ll weather
Life together In the good old fashioned way.
[Verse 2]
It's thought quite queer if they last a year,
These marriages that we know.
You've hardly cried;
"Here comes the bride!"
Before she's off to Reno.
They'll have to change it I suppose,
From; "Here she comes!" to;
"There she goes!"
But
[Refrain]
Recommended Citation
Kern, Jerome and Wodehouse, P. G., "An Old Fashioned Wife" (1917). Historic Sheet Music Collection. 1147.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sheetmusic/1147
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.
Comments
An Old Fashioned Wife
Words by P. G. Wodehouse
Music by Jerome Kern
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter (1917)
Some of these resources may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes. Such materials should be seen in the context of the time period and as a reflection of attitudes of the time. The items are part of the historical record, and do not represent the views of the library or the institution.