The Surrey With the Fringe On Top

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Surrey With the Fringe On Top is a song written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for the musical Oklahoma!. It is the second song of the show, following the famous opening number sung by Curly "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning". In the 1955 film version, Curly was played by Gordon McCrae and Laurey was played by Shirley Jones. In addition to the its familiar rendition performed in the numerous versions of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, The Surrey with the Fringe on Top was also given a jazz treatment by trumpeter Miles Davis.

When Curly asks Laurey to go to the box social with him, he uses this song to persuade her with the prospect of going in a fancy rented ride. In the movie version the surrey (a four wheel covered carriage, in this case pulled by two horses) is initially seen in a brief fantasy sequence, but appears for real at the end when Curly and Laurey ride off in it to their honeymoon.

An exchange from this duet:

Laurey: "Has it really got a team of snow white horses?'"
Curly: "One's like snow, the other's more like milk."

[edit] Pop culture

There is a scene in When Harry Met Sally... where Harry sings a karaoke version of Surrey With a Fringe On Top.

[edit] As jazz standard

Versions of the song were recorded by Ahmad Jamal, Miles Davis, and McCoy Tyner, among others.