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"Bill" is a song featured in the 1951 film Show Boat with music composed by Jerome Kern and lyrics written by P.G. Wodehouse. In the song, Julie LaVerne (Annette Warren) emotionally recalls her own lost love during this bittersweet ballad of love and memory at an audition.
The song was originally written by Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse for their musical comedy Oh Lady! Lady!!, but it was deemed too melancholy for the show. Repurposed by Oscar Hammerstein as an audition song in Show Boat, the song, though charming on its surface, becomes a haunting reminder of Julie's descent into alcohol abuse and solitude.
Lyrics[]
I used to dream that I would discover
The perfect lover someday
I knew I'd recognize him if ever
He came ‘round my way
I always used to fancy then
He'd be one of the godlike kind of men
With a giant brain and a noble head,
Like the heroes bold in the books I've read
But along came Bill,
Who's not the type at all,
You'd meet him on the street
And never notice him
His form and face,
His manly grace
Are not the kind that you
Would find in a statue
And I can't explain,
It's surely not his brain
That makes me thrill
I love him because he's wonderful,
Because he's just my Bill
He can't play golf or tennis or polo,
Or sing a solo, or row
He is not half as handsome
As dozens of men that I know
He is not tall and straight and slim,
And he dresses far worse than Ted or Jim
And I can't explain why he should be
Just the one, one man in the world for me
He's just my Bill
An ordinary guy,
He hasn't got a thing that I can brag about
And yet to be
Upon his knee,
So comfy and roomy,
Seems natural to me
And I can't explain,
It's surely not his brain
That makes me thrill
I love him because he's—
I don't know
Because he's just my Bill
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