Lyrics
Sung by Cynthia Cynch
Not with the sighing flute,
Sought he to press his suit.
Nor with the twinkling lute
Came he zum-zumming.
Not on, the light guitar,
Under the twilight star,
Could he be heard afar
Tenderly strumming.
But from his piercing piccolo,
My highly-gifted Niccolo
Could charm with much celerity
This melody divine.
Defying fell malaria,
He'd execute this aria
With marvelous dexterity,
Each night at half past nine.
(Piccolo Chorus)
Not with the violin,
Sought he my heart to win,
Nor with the mandolin
Came he a wooing.
Not on the slide trombone,
Played he a mellow tone,
Singing of love alone,
Sighing and sueing.
But from his piercing piccolo . . .
(Piccolo Chorus)
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Niccolo's Piccolo
From the 1903 Broadway Musical
The Wizard of Oz
Words by L. Frank Baum & Glen MacDonough
Music by Paul Tietjens
Bet you didn't know that Nick Chopper played the piccolo! Or even what
"Nick" stood for! Well, apparently he does play -- and quite well -- at
least according to his girlfriend, Cynthia Cynch. Of lasting importance
is the fact that this song provided the Tin Woodman with his proper
name. Baum must have thought highly of the rhyme since Nick Chopper's
name was one of very few elements of the stage show to be incorporated
into the Oz books.
The history of this song is fairly complicated. When The Wizard of
Oz opened in Chicago of 1902 the song was credited to Baum and
Tietjens. After the 1903 Broadway premiere the song was suddenly
credited to A. Baldwin Sloane and Glen MacDonough. Was it a major typo?
Was it a sly device on the part of director Julian Mitchell to make
Sloane's contribution to the show appear greater than it actually was?
It is impossible to say.
What is known is that Paul Tietjens wrote the music; his
manuscript copy survives among his papers. Regarding the lyrics, the
version that was performed is slightly more polished than Baum's
copyrighted lyric. It is known that Glen MacDonough did come in at the
last minute to doctor the script so he may well have tidied Baum's
lyrics. We have therefore added MacDonough's name to the song.
You can download or play a MIDI
of this delightfully catchy number; or you can
download the sheet music in PDF format which will allow you to save it on disc or print copies for yourself.
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