The Brown Skin Gal (In The Calico Gown) - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra

She’s a camptown tune at a barbecue,

an old fashioned curt’sy

And a how dee ya’do,

a tintype from somebody’s locket

The wind and the stars and the earth

But in practical terms of the pocket,

Here’s how I measure her worth

A penny for the moon, a nickel for a dream,

a quarter for a tune like the Old Mill Stream

But I’d give a dollar and my heart to foller to The Brown-Skin Gal In The Calico Gown.

A puzzler for a pal

A jack-knife for a song, a garter for a gal

in a blue sarong:

But I’d give a necklace because I’m reckless

for a kiss from the miss in the Calico Gown.

Haven t much use for worldly goods

Robin Hood’s for me;

if my love’s worth a nickel,

It’s worth a Peso mine for the giving;

hers for the say so A penny for a cart to take her out to dine;

a scissor cuts a heart on a valentine;

then a sky-blue bonnet with pink ribbons on it for The Brown-Skin Gal In The Calico Gown.

A penny for the moon, a nickel for a dream,

a quarter for a tune like the Old Mill Stream

But I’d give a dollar and my heart to foller to The Brown-Skin Gal In The Calico Gown.

A puzzler for a pal

A jack-knife for a song, a garter for a gal

in a blue sarong:

But I’d give a necklace because I’m reckless

for a kiss from the miss in the Calico Gown.

Haven t much use for worldly goods

Robin Hood’s for me;

if my love’s worth a nickel,

It’s worth a Peso mine for the giving;

hers for the say so A penny for a cart to take her out to dine;

a scissor cuts a heart on a valentine;

then a sky-blue bonnet with pink ribbons on it for The Brown-Skin Gal In The Calico Gown.