Charley, My Boy

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Charley, My Boy is a song written by Gus Kahn and Ted Fiorito in 1924.

It is sung from the viewpoint of a woman enamored of a man who she finds to be an exceptional lover, although no one else ever has.

It was recorded by a number of artists, including Billy Murray. Murray's version is wrapped inside a lively instrumental that is clearly intended for dancing the Charleston or other popular Jazz Age dances.

First verse:

Charley is an ordinary fellow to most everyone but Flo

She's convinced that Charley is a very extraordinary beau

And every evening in the dim light

She has a way of putting him right

First chorus:

Charley, my boy; oh, Charley, my boy

You thrill me, you chill me, with shivers of joy

You've got the kinda sorta bit of a way

That makes me, takes me; tell me, what shall I say

And when we dance I read in your glance

Whole pages and ages of love and romance

They tell me Romeo was some lover, too

But boy, he should have taken lessons from you

You seem to start where others get through

Oh, Charley, my boy.

Murray's version featured a short instrumental interlude between the two sets of verses, which included a bar from an earlier Murray recording of a similar-themed tune: "He's not so good in a crowd, but when you get him alone, You'd Be Surprised."