As you walk through the doorway, a cloud of cool smoke envelops you. You choke for a
moment, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand. When your vision clears, you are
surprised to see that the room you have entered looks nothing like what one would expect
to find in a temple. In fact, it looks rather like a night club.
You look down and realize you are no longer in the sweat-stained clothes you had been
hiking through the jungle in. You're dressed to the nines in your best evening wear. Pretty
spiffy, you think, as a waiter comes forward to usher you a table. Looks like one of the
best seats in the house for the floor show, too.
"Welcome to Club Obi Wan." The waiter hands you a menu. Or is it?
You read...
One thing I've always wanted to find on an Indiana Jones site is the lyrics to the song that
Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) performs in the beginning of "Indiana Jones and the Temple
of Doom," the Chinese version of "Anything Goes" by Cole Porter. The lyrics are not
provided in the published movie script.
"Anything Goes" was written in 1934 and was a big hit in 1935, the year in which "Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom" takes place. Since at first I was unable to locate a Temple
of Doom soundtrack, I tried to find other CDs with the song on it (albeit in English.) My
two favorite versions of it are the one sung by Patti Lupone in the soundtrack of the
musical by the same name (which is also available on a disc called "The Only Broadway
CD You'll Ever Need") and one by Jeanne Aubert & the Four Admirals on the CD "Hits
of '35." I highly recommend the "Hits of '35" since these would have all been songs that
Indy knew (had he been a real person and listened to the radio.) Also, this CD is part of a
series, so if you're really into it you can collect all the '30s CDs (or at least 1935, 1936 and
1938.) The lyrics differ slightly from the Lupone version and it leaves out the tap dancing.
Two other soundtracks of the “Anything Goes” musical are on the market at the moment,
one starring Kim Criswell, which I highly recommend, and another starring Ellen Rodgers
which has several completely different songs on it, yet is enjoyable nonetheless. I would
love to get my hands on any recording of Ethel Merman in this production, as she starred
in the original show on Broadway, which my Grandmother actually saw on February 15,
1935, on Broadway and gave me the program from the show.
The “Temple of Doom” soundtrack is difficult to come by, and the version I eventually
tracked down is a Japanese release, but it’;s got the entire “Anything Goes” number on it,
and that’s enough for me. If you’re looking for it I recommend:
Willie sings a couple of what appear to be abbreviated verses and the bridge, leaving out
the song's rather long intro ("Times have changed...etc). In the novelization of "Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom" by James Khan (1984) I was thrilled to find this little bit
of Chinese:
"Yi wang si-i wa ye kan dao
Xin li bian yao la jing bao jin tian zhi
Dao
Anything goes."
Unfortunately, my Chinese is terrible, and I can't begin to translate it, so I'm going to
resort to providing you with the English-language lyrics to the song. If you speak Chinese
and know what this means, by all means please e-mail me! Also, I'd love to have the words
to the second verse and the bridge which Willie sings.
As I mentioned above, I have seen at least three different versions of these lyrics, not
including the Chinese ones. One version I saw had rather satirical political lines in it, but
I'm going to give you the ones from the Lupone version. I also remember hearing the line
"but now God knows" sung as "Heaven knows," probably to be less offensive, which is
really ironic if you think about it. Anyway, here we go. Sing it loud--give it your best
Willie Scott.
ANYTHING GOES -- Cole Porter
Times have changed,
And we've often rewound the clock
Since the Puritans got a shock
When they landed on Plymouth Rock,
If today
Any shock they should try to stem,
'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
Plymouth Rock would land on them.
In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, God knows,
Anything goes.
Good authors too who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose,
Anything goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today,
And black's white today,
And day's night today,
When most guys today
That women prize today
Are just silly gigolos.
And though I'm not a great romancer
I know that I'm bound to answer
When you propose.
Anything goes.
When Grandmama whose age is eighty
In nightclubs is getting matey
With gigolos,
Anything goes.
When mothers pack and leave poor father
Because they decide they'd rather be
Tennis pros,
Anything goes.
If driving fast cars you like,
If low bars you like,
If old hymns you like,
If bare limbs you like,
If Mae West you like,
Or me undressed you like,
Why, nobody will oppose.
When every night, the set that's smart is
Intruding in nudist parties in
Studios,
Anything goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today,
And black's white today,
And day's night today,
When most guys today
That women prize today
Are just silly gigolos.
And though I'm not a great romancer
I know that I'm bound to answer
When you propose.
Anything goes.
If saying your prayers you like,
If green pears you like,
If old chairs you like,
If back stairs you like,
If love affairs you like
With young bears you like,
Why, nobody will oppose.
And though I'm not a great romancer
I know that I'm bound to answer
When you propose.
Anything goes.
As you walk through the doorway, a cloud of cool smoke envelops you. You choke for a
moment, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand. When your vision clears, you are
surprised to see that the room you have entered looks nothing like what one would expect
to find in a temple. In fact, it looks rather like a night club.
"Anything Goes" was written in 1934 and was a big hit in 1935, the year in which "Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom" takes place. Since at first I was unable to locate a Temple
of Doom soundtrack, I tried to find other CDs with the song on it (albeit in English.) My
two favorite versions of it are the one sung by Patti Lupone in the soundtrack of the
musical by the same name (which is also available on a disc called "The Only Broadway
CD You'll Ever Need") and one by Jeanne Aubert & the Four Admirals on the CD "Hits
of '35." I highly recommend the "Hits of '35" since these would have all been songs that
Indy knew (had he been a real person and listened to the radio.) Also, this CD is part of a
series, so if you're really into it you can collect all the '30s CDs (or at least 1935, 1936 and
1938.) The lyrics differ slightly from the Lupone version and it leaves out the tap dancing.
Two other soundtracks of the “Anything Goes” musical are on the market at the moment,
one starring Kim Criswell, which I highly recommend, and another starring Ellen Rodgers
which has several completely different songs on it, yet is enjoyable nonetheless. I would
love to get my hands on any recording of Ethel Merman in this production, as she starred
in the original show on Broadway, which my Grandmother actually saw on February 15,
1935, on Broadway and gave me the program from the show.
ANYTHING GOES -- Cole Porter
