Music Blog

My Two Cents

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Friday Faithfuls Penny Production

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Today at Friday Faithfuls, Jim Adams asks our opinion on penny production. I can honestly say until recent talk in the news about stopping the production of new pennies, I have never given the subject much thought. If you want my 2¢ worth, I think pennies are a pain in the butt. There are more than enough pennies in circulation to go around; should the need present itself, I suppose production can start up again. If not, we can always pray for a bit of good luck.

“Pennies From Heaven” is a great old American song written in 1936 by the duo of Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby later that year in the movie of the same name. 

In 1957, singer/trumpet player/composer/bandleader Louis Prima had a hit with “Pennies From Heaven”; the track is featured on his album The Call Of The Wildest which he recorded with his wife, Keely Smith. I always enjoyed that duo; Prima was a fun-loving buffoon who liked to joke around a lot on stage while the divine Ms. Smith got increasingly annoyed at him and his antics yet somehow managed to continue singing in her incredibly effortless jazzy/bluesy voice. Her deadpan routine is legendary. I often wondered how much of that was an act and how much was real. My dad didn’t like Louis Prima saying he gave Sicilians a bad name. Really? I guess La Cosa Nostra conveniently slipped dad’s mind. Mamma mia!

When soundtracking my stories, poems, etc., it doesn’t bother me if the videos I feature are live versions or studio recordings; they just need to sound good and many times I think a studio recording sounds better than a live performance. This time, however, while the sound quality is excellent, I wish I had been able to find a live performance so you could enjoy the total audio-visual experience of Louis Prima.

This is “Pennies From Heaven” by Louis Prima


LYRICS

And every time it rains, it rains
Pennies from Heaven (shooby dooby)
Don’t you know each cloud contains
Pennies from Heaven? (Shooby dooby)
You’ll find your fortune falling all over town
Be sure that your umbrella is up, up, up, up upside down, and

Trade them for a package of sunshine and ravioli (macaroni)
If you want the things you love, you must have a pizzaioli, baby
And when you hear thunder, don’t run under a tree
It’ll be pennies from Heaven, for you and for me
Now come over here boy, Sam

And every time it rains, it rains
And don’t you know each cloud contains?
Every time it rains, it rains
And don’t you know each cloud contains?
You find your fortune falling
All over town, all over town, all over town
Be sure that your umbrella is upside down twiddly bop

And you’ll find your fortune falling all over town
It’ll be pennies from Heaven
Pennies from Heaven
The pennies from Heaven
For you and me

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Johnny Burke/Arthur Johnston
Pennies From Heaven lyrics © Campbell Connelly And Co.ltd., Anne Rachel Music Corp., Chappell & Co., Inc.

Penny Production

And that’s all she wrote. See you on the flip side. 😎

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All text and graphics copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

21 thoughts on “My Two Cents”

  6. I had no idea that Louis Prima covered this song, as the only version that I have ever heard was from Bing Crosby, which I think is a totally different song.  I like the more upbeat Louis Prima version and he sure was loaded with energy and I like the Italian twist that he added to this song.  Besides Fandango, you are the only other person to participate in all three of my challenges in the same week, thanks for adding your two cents, Nancy.

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    1. You learn something new every day! Bing has never been a favorite of mine; of his contemporaries I much prefer Sinatra, Nat King Cole or Dean Martin. This Louis Prima version is a classic and I was glad to feature it today.

      That’s quite a distinction that Fandango and I share! I will try my best to be here every week, Jim. I’m in the process of letting go of excess baggage and only holding on to what I really enjoy. Your posts fall into the latter category.

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          1. Thanks, Nancy and I have watched this video before, and I also watched a documentary on Frank Sinatra, and I learned how much he helped so many other people. I guess you dad didn’t respect him for the lifestyle of drinking and womanizing, but not only was he filled with talent, he changed the whole music industry. I read that Frank thought that the Beatles song Something was the best song ever written.

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