Overture / Rock Island / Iowa Stubborn

All aboard!
Credit is no good for an ocean salesman.
How far you goin', Fred?
Wherever the people are as green as the money.
Fred.
What's the matter with Fred?
Charlie, you're an anvil salesman. Your firm give credit?
No sir!
Nor anybody else.
River City! Next station stop River City highway!
Cash for the merchandise
Cash for the button hooks
Cash for the cotton goods
Cash for the hard goods
Cash for the fancy goods
Cash for the soft goods
Cash for the noggins and the pickins and the firkins
Cash for the hog's head, cask, and demi-jot
Cash for the crackers and the pickles and the flypaper
Look
Whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk?
Whatya gettin' at?
Whattya talk-
You can talk, you can talk
You can bicker, you can talk
You can bicker, bicker, bicker
You can talk, you can talk
You can talk talk talk talk bicker bicker bicker
You can talk all you want
But it's different than it was
No it ain't, no it ain't,
But ya gotta know the territory
Ch, ch, ch, ch, ch, ch
Why did the model t-4
Make the trouble, make the people want to go
Wanna get, wanna get, wanna get up and go
7 8 9 10 12 14 22 23 miles to the county, see
Yes sir, yes sir
Who's gonna patronize the little-bitty two-by-four kinda store anymore?
Whattya talk, whattya talk!
Whattya gettin' at?
Go on, go on!
Go on with the hog's head, cask, and demi-jot!
Go on with the sugar barrel, pickel barrel, milk can!
Go on with the gum and the pail and the tears!
Ever meet a fella by the name of hill?
Hill?
Hill?
Hill?
Hill?
Hill?
Hill?
Hill?
Hill?
No!
Just a minute just a minute just a minute!
Never hearda any salesman Hill
Now he doesn't know the territory
Doesn't know the territory
What's the fella's line?
Never worries 'bout his line!
Never worries 'bout his line
Not a dog-gone thing
He's just a bang-beat, bell-ringin', big-hall, great go-necker, nothing rit-thrower never-time-a-bullseye salesman!
That Professor Harold Hill, Harold Hill
What's the fella's line? What's his line?
He's a fake and he doesn't know the territory!
Look whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk, whattya talk?
He's a music man
He's a what?
He's a what?
He's a music man!
And he sells clarinets to the kids in the town
with the big trombones,
and the ratt-a-tatt drums.
Big brass bass, big brass bass!
And the piccolo, the piccolo,
with uniforms too!
And a shiny gold braid on the coat
and a big red stripe runnin'.
Well, I don't know much about bands
But I do know you can't make a livin' selling big trombones.
No, sir!
Mandolin' picks, perhaps,
and here and there a guitar.
No, the fella sells bands.
Boy's bands!
I don't know how he does it, but he lives like a king
and he dallies and he gathers and he plucks and he shines
And when the man dances, certainly boys, what else?
The piper pays him!
Yes, sir!
Yes sir!
Yes sir!
Yes sir!
When the man dances, certainly boys, what else?
The piper pays him!
Yesssssssir
Yessssssir
But he doesn't know the territory!
River City! Station stop River City!
Oh, there's nothing halfway
About the Iowa way to treat you when we treat you
Which we may not do at all
There's an Iowa kind
Of special chip on the shoulder attitude we've never been without
That we recall
We can be cold as the falling thermometer in December if you ask about the weather in July
And we're so by-God stubborn we could stand
Touch noses for a week at a time
And never see eye to eye!
But look ahead, you're welcome!
Join us at the picnic!
You can eat your fill of all the food you bring yourself.
You really ought to give Iowa a try!
Provided you are contrary.
We can be cold as the falling thermometer in December if you
ask about the weather in July
And we're so by-God stubborn we could
Stand touching noses a week at a time
And never see eye to eye
But we'll give you our shirt
And a pack to go with it
If your crop should happen to die
So what the heck!
You're welcome
Glad to have you with us!
Even though we may not ever mention it again
You really ought to give Iowa
Not bad Iowa
If you ---?---
Ought to give Iowa a try!