Song of the Week: Sunny Side of the Street

If you've ever read The Sign on Rosie's Door, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, you'll remember that Rosie (masquerading as Alinda, the Lovely Lady Singer) attempts to sing to her friends "The Sunny Side of the Street." Her friends are not attentive listeners, and keep interrupting her. At the end of the chapter, Rosie is able to get through the entire song after her friends have left the scene.



"The Sunny Side of the Street," written by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh, is the House of Glee's get-ready-to-go song:

Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street

Can't you hear the pitter-pat
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be complete
On the sunny side of the street

I used to walk in the shade with my blues on parade
But now I'm not afraid...this rover's crossed over

If I never had a cent
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
Gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side of the street.


The link to the guitar chords are here. For recordings, you've got a host of musicians from which to choose: Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dan Zanes, Judy Garland, John Lithgow, Willie Nelson... the list goes on. A link to a song sample by Ella Fitgerald is here (track 12). Just so you know, the Pogues song by the same name is not the song written by Fields and McHugh.