"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (also known as "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" or simply "Let's Do It") is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

written in 1928 by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical ''

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

'' (1928) by French chanteuse Irène Bordoni for whom Porter had written the musical as a starring vehicle. Bordoni's husband and ''Paris'' producer Ray Goetz convinced Porter to give Broadway another try with this show. The song was later used in the English production of ''Wake Up and Dream'' (1929) and was used as the title theme music in the 1933 Hollywood movie, ''Grand Slam'' starring

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

and Paul Lukas. In 1960 it was also included in the film version of Cole Porter's '' Can-Can''.

History

The first of Porter's " list songs", it features a string of suggestive and droll comparisons and examples, preposterous pairings and

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s, dropping famous names and events, drawing from highbrow and popular culture. Porter was a strong admirer of the

Savoy Operas Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which imp ...

of Gilbert & Sullivan, many of whose stage works featured similar comic list songs. The first refrain covers

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, the second refrain

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, the third refrain

marine life Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. ...

, the fourth refrain

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

and

centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

s, and the fifth refrain non-human

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s. One commentator saw the phrase ''Let's do "it"'' as a euphemistic reference to a proposition for

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal pene ...

. According to this argument, ''Let's do it'' was a pioneer pop song to declare openly "sex is fun". According to it, several suggestive lines include a couplet from verse 4: "Moths in your rugs do it, What's the use of moth-balls?" and "Folks in Siam do it, Think of Siamese twins" (verse 1) and "Why ask if shad do it? Waiter, bring me shad roe" (verse 3) and "Sweet guinea-pigs do it, Buy a couple and wait" (verse 5). The nature of the song is such that it has lent itself over the years to the regular addition of contemporary or topical stanzas. For example, in 1955 the lines "Even

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

, we assume, does it," "

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

could -''just''- do it" and many more were added by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

in his Las Vegas cabaret performance of the song, in which he replaced all of Porter's lyrics with his own.

Legacy

The song has been revived many times since 1928, although usually with only a limited portion of the original lyrics. A punk rock version performed by

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

and

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...

was used as the theme song in the 1995 movie '' Tank Girl'', and later in a more classical version in a musical revue number within the film. In the revue, the song is at first performed by stage actress

Ann Magnuson Ann Magnuson (born January 4, 1956) is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer. She was described by ''The New York Times'' in 1990 as "An endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lil ...

, but is taken over by star Lori Petty after she places duct tape over Magnuson's mouth. It was originally recorded with Joan Jett and Greg Graffin, but

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

did not want them using Graffin so they deleted his voice and recorded Westerberg's. Joan Jett and Greg Graffin's version of "Let's Do It" was eventually released in 2000 on the compilation CD ''Laguna Tunes'' ( Blackheart Records).

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...

' song "Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)", from their 2005 album ''

Get Behind Me Satan ''Get Behind Me Satan'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock duo the White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005, on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecess ...

'', borrows lyrics and themes from the song. Brazilian singers

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

and

Elza Soares Elza da Conceição Soares ( née Gomes; 23 June 1930 – 20 January 2022), known professionally as Elza Soares (), was a Brazilian samba singer. In 1999, she was named Singer of the Millennium along with Tina Turner by BBC Radio. Elza was ...

recorded a Portuguese adaptation by Carlos Rennó, "Façamos - Vamos Amar", on Buarque's 2002 album ''Duetos''. Scottish singer

Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish musician and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the American alternative rock band Garbage. Manson gained media attention for her forthright style, rebellious attitude, and dis ...

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

incorporated lyrics from the song into Garbage's performance of their song "

Vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...

" at Bizarre festival in 1996. The song is featured prominently in

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's 2011 film ''

Midnight in Paris ''Midnight in Paris'' is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender ( Owen Wilson), a screenwriter, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materi ...

''. Actor Yves Heck played Cole Porter in the movie.

Racial lyrics controversy

In Porter's publication from 1928, the opening lines for the chorus carried three derogatory racial references:

Chink ''Chink'' is an English-language ethnic slur usually referring to a person of Chinese descent. The word is also sometimes indiscriminately used against people of East Asian, North Asian and Southeast Asian appearance. The use of the term des ...

Jap ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

s, and Laps. The original was:

Chinks do it, Japs do it,
up in Lapland little Laps do it...

The original line can be heard in several early recordings of the song, such as a recording made by the

Dorsey Brothers The Dorsey Brothers were an American studio dance band, led by Tommy Dorsey, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. They started recording in 1928 for OKeh Records. History The Dorsey Brothers recorded songs for the dime store labels (Banner Records, Banner, C ...

& their Orchestra (featuring a vocal by a young

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

And His Orchestra, all in 1928, and a version of the song by the singer and well-known Broadway star

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'' (194 ...

(with Ray Sinatra's orchestra), recorded in 1944. Another example is

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, in 1941. Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman orchestra recorded a version in 1941 with these lyrics. CBS came up with less offensive lyrics, which

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

adopted, and changed the opening to the refrain: " Birds do it, bees do it" when he realized that the line was offensive.

Notable recordings

& their Orchestra (vocal,

) (January 26, 1929) *

Lee Morse Lena Corinne "Lee" Morse (née Taylor; November 30, 1897 – December 16, 1954) was an American jazz and blues singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, and actress. Morse's greatest popularity was in the 1920s and early 1930s as a torch singer, a ...

(1928) * Rudy Vallée and His Connecticut Yankees (billed as Frank Mater; 1928) *

with Ray Sinatra & His Orchestra - (1941) *

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song " Santa ...

with Henri René and his Orchestra. Recorded in New York City on October 5, 1951. It was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

as catalog number 20-5737 (in the U.S.) and by EMI on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

label as catalog number B 10778. The song was also released on the LP ''That Bad Eartha'' (1953) *

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

- '' In the Land of Hi-Fi'' (1956) *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

- ''

Ella and Louis Again ''Ella and Louis Again'' is a studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, released in 1957 on Verve Records. It is the sequel to their 1956 album, ''Ella and Louis''. In contrast to their previous collaboration, this album features seven ...

'' (1957), '' Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson'' (1957) * The Kirby Stone Four - ''Baubles, Bangles, And Beads'' (1958) *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

, '' Can-Can'' Soundtrack, 1960 *

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

- '' Della Della Cha-Cha-Cha'' (1960) * '' MAD'' magazine parodied the song using comic strip characters as the finale to "The MAD "Comic" Opera" from ''MAD'' #56, written by Frank Jacobs: "We've heard that Blondie and Dag do it/Frequently a Yokum and a Scragg do it/Let's do it, let's fall in love...." *

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the theme ...

- ''

The Greatest Horn in the World ''The Greatest Horn in the World'' is the second album by Al Hirt to be released by RCA Victor. Like his previous album, Hirt covers some of the most famous jazz standards of his time. The album landed on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in 1961, rea ...

'' (1961) *

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

- ''Sugar'' (1967) *

Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, voice actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born ...

- ''Träume heißen Du'' ("Sei mal verliebt" — German version, 1968) *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

- '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook'' (1956), '' The Stockholm Concert, 1966'' (1966), '' Montreux '75'' (1975) *

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his ...

- '' Thank You for Everything'' (1998), rec. 1976 *

John Inman Frederick John Inman (28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007) was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in '' Are You Being Served?'', a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and was the only actor from that series to featu ...

- ''I'm Free'' (1977) * Kim Basinger - '' The Marrying Man'' (1991) *

and

of The Replacements recorded a punk version for the soundtrack of '' Tank Girl'' * Susannah McCorkle - ''Easy to Love – The Songs of Cole Porter'' (1996) * Lee Wiley - ''Hot House Rose'' (1996), ''Sings Porter and Gershwin'' (2004) *

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

- ''

Dear Ella ''Dear Ella'' is a 1997 studio album by Dee Dee Bridgewater, recorded in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, who had died the previous year. For ''Dear Ella'', Bridgewater won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Slide Hampton won the Grammy Aw ...

'' (1997) *

Come Shine Come Shine is a Norwegian jazz band, established 2001 in Trondheim. Biography Their eponymously titled debut album was released in 2001 on Curling Legs, and was followed by a later studio album, ''Do Do That Voodoo'', and a live album, ''Come ...

- ''Come Shine'' (2001) *

and

– "Façamos - Vamos Amar" (Brazilian version, 2002) *

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...

- '' Alanis Morissette: The Collection'' (2005) (originally released on the soundtrack of ''

De-Lovely ''De-Lovely'' is a 2004 American musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, u ...

'') *

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

- ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

'' (recorded in 1973, unreleased until 2006) *

Barbara Schöneberger Barbara von Schierstädt (; born 5 March 1974) is a German television presenter, actress and singer. Early life Schöneberger is the only child of clarinet player Hans Schöneberger and his wife Annemarie. She studied sociology, art history and ...

- ''Sei mal verliebt'' - ''Jetzt singt sie auch noch!'' (2007) * James Newman - '' Skins'' (Newman performed the song (as his character Tony) in the episode "Tony" of the U.S. version of the U.K. drama '' Skins'') * Yves Heck - Heck played the physical role while Conal Fowkes provided the voice as Cole Porter in the 2011

film ''

''. * ''

Wonder Pets ''Wonder Pets!'' is an American educational animated children's television series created by Josh Selig for Nickelodeon. The series follows a trio of classroom pets—Linny the Guinea Pig, Turtle Tuck and Ming-Ming Duckling—who use teamwork to ...

'' — In the episode "Save the Puppy", they sang a parody of the song about how everyone needs to "wee-wee, pee-pee, tinkle" using the lyrics "Dogs do it, frogs do it, even funny winking hogs do it...". * The ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'' song "Let's Lay an Egg" is a parody of the song, using the lyrics "Snails do it, slugs do it. Even tiny Twiddlebugs do it!" *

Molly Ringwald Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an o ...

- the theme song for ''

The Secret Life of the American Teenager ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013. The series received mixed to som ...

'' from 2008 to 2012, in which Ringwald also stars as Anne Juergens. Ringwald's rendition is upbeat, containing such lines as "Falling in love is such a easy thing to do. Birds can do it, we can do it. Let's stop talking, let's get to it. Let's fall in love." * A duet version was recorded by Scottish singers Todd Gordon and

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the w ...

accompanied by The Royal Air Force Squadronaires big band (2012), produced by Ken Barnes * Pablo Bubar - ''

Boom Town A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

'' (2013) *

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

recorded a version of the song for her 2021 collaborative album with

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

, '' Love for Sale''.

References

External links

Ella Fitzgerald recording of this song (archive.org)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love 1928 songs Songs from Cole Porter musicals Songs written by Cole Porter Ella Fitzgerald songs Louis Armstrong songs Alanis Morissette songs Billie Holiday songs Dinah Washington songs Eartha Kitt songs Al Hirt songs Songs from Can-Can (film) The Secret Life of the American Teenager Jazz compositions in B-flat major Music controversies