Main Title Overture Rock Island Iowa Stubborn - The Orchestra, The Ensemble, The Traveling Salesman

All aboard!

Credit is no good for an ocean salesman.

How far you goin', Fred?

Wherever the people are as green as the money.

Fred.

What’s the matter with Fred?

Charlie, you’re an anvil salesman.

Your firm give credit?

No sir!

Nor anybody else.

River City!

Next station stop River City highway!

Cash for the merchandise

Cash for the button hooks

Cash for the cotton goods

Cash for the hard goods

Cash for the fancy goods

Cash for the soft goods

Cash for the noggins and the pickins and the firkins

Cash for the hog’s head, cask, and demi-jot

Cash for the crackers and the pickles and the flypaper

Look

Whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk?

Whatya gettin' at?

Whattya talk-

You can talk, you can talk

You can bicker, you can talk

You can bicker, bicker, bicker

You can talk, you can talk

You can talk talk talk talk bicker bicker bicker

You can talk all you want

But it’s different than it was

No it ain’t, no it ain’t,

But ya gotta know the territory

Ch, ch, ch, ch, ch, ch

Why did the model t-4

Make the trouble, make the people want to go

Wanna get, wanna get, wanna get up and go

7 8 9 10 12 14 22 23 miles to the county, see

Yes sir, yes sir

Who’s gonna patronize the little-bitty two-by-four kinda store anymore?

Whattya talk, whattya talk!

Whattya gettin' at?

Go on, go on!

Go on with the hog’s head, cask, and demi-jot!

Go on with the sugar barrel, pickel barrel, milk can!

Go on with the gum and the pail and the tears!

Ever meet a fella by the name of hill?

Hill?

Hill?

Hill?

Hill?

Hill?

Hill?

Hill?

Hill?

No!

Just a minute just a minute just a minute!

Never hearda any salesman Hill

Now he doesn’t know the territory

Doesn’t know the territory

What’s the fella’s line?

Never worries 'bout his line!

Never worries 'bout his line

Not a dog-gone thing

He’s just a bang-beat, bell-ringin', big-hall, great go-necker, nothing

rit-thrower never-time-a-bullseye salesman!

That Professor Harold Hill, Harold Hill

What’s the fella’s line?

What’s his line?

He’s a fake and he doesn’t know the territory!

Look whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk?

He’s a music man

He’s a what?

He’s a what?

He’s a music man!

And he sells clarinets to the kids in the town

with the big trombones,

and the ratt-a-tatt drums.

Big brass bass, big brass bass!

And the piccolo, the piccolo,

with uniforms too!

And a shiny gold braid on the coat

and a big red stripe runnin'.

Well, I don’t know much about bands

But I do know you can’t make a livin' selling big trombones.

No, sir!

Mandolin' picks, perhaps,

and here and there a guitar.

No, the fella sells bands.

Boy’s bands!

I don’t know how he does it, but he lives like a king

and he dallies and he gathers and he plucks and he shines

And when the man dances, certainly boys, what else?

The piper pays him!

Yes, sir!

Yes sir!

Yes sir!

Yes sir!

When the man dances, certainly boys, what else?

The piper pays him!

Yesssssssir

Yessssssir

But he doesn’t know the territory!

River City!

Station stop River City!

Oh, there’s nothing halfway

About the Iowa way to treat you when we treat you

Which we may not do at all

There’s an Iowa kind

Of special chip on the shoulder attitude we’ve never been without

That we recall

We can be cold as the falling thermometer in December if you ask about the

weather in July

And we’re so by-God stubborn we could stand

Touch noses for a week at a time

And never see eye to eye!

But look ahead, you’re welcome!

Join us at the picnic!

You can eat your fill of all the food you bring yourself.

You really ought to give Iowa a try!

Provided you are contrary.

We can be cold as the falling thermometer in December if you

ask about the weather in July

And we’re so by-God stubborn we could

Stand touching noses a week at a time

And never see eye to eye

But we’ll give you our shirt

And a pack to go with it

If your crop should happen to die

So what the heck!

You’re welcome

Glad to have you with us!

Even though we may not ever mention it again

You really ought to give Iowa

Not bad Iowa

If you ---?---

Ought to give Iowa a try!