Makin' Whoopee

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"Makin' Whoopee!" is a jazz/blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!. Walter Donaldson wrote the music and Gus Kahn the lyrics for the song (and indeed for the entire musical).

The title is a slang expression for sexual intimacy,^[1] and the song itself is a "dire warning", largely to men, about the "trap" of marriage.^[2] "Makin' Whoopee" begins with the celebration of a wedding, honeymoon, and the early years of marital bliss:

Another bride, another June

Another sunny honeymoon

Another season, another reason

For makin' whoopee

but moves on to babies and responsibilities:

He's washing dishes and baby clothes

He's so ambitious, he even sews

But don't forget, folks, that's what you get, folks

For makin' whoopee

and ultimately on to affairs and possible divorce, ending with a judge's advice:

You better keep her

I think it's cheaper

Than makin' whoopee

[edit] In popular culture

Arguably the most famous rendition of "Makin' Whoopee" was performed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys.

In 2006, "Makin' Whoopee!" was covered by Rod Stewart in a duet with Elton John on his album The Great American Songbook, Volume 4. Harry Nilsson had previously covered it.

[edit] References

^ whoopee[2,noun]. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved on 2006-10-08.
^ Holden, Stephen. "Crooning About the Woes of Whoopee", New York Times, April 19, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-10-08. A review of a James Naughton cabaret performance. "Mr. Naughton pounces on the dire warning to men lurking beneath the song's playful surface: that once the honeymoon is over, marriage can become a trap from which there is no escape."