It's Mad, It's Gay!

I adored the film version of CAMELOT when I was 13 years old. I saw it in the theatre, by myself, at least 6 times. I would eventually appear in 3 productions this musical, playing Merlin in high school & playing Mordred twice in summer stock. In high school, my best friend Rich & I would always re-write lyrics to the songs in our musicals. In Put On Your Sunday Clothes from Hello, Dolly!, we sang the lyric- "get out your beads & buckles & bows" as- "get out your creams & jellys & foams". We found this to be quite hysterical. In Camelot, we sang this Alan Jay Lerner lyric as - "It's May! The CRUSTY month of May!". We would sing in full voice, in production & nobody seemed to notice. I was & am, eternally a bad boy!



I think Alan Jay Lerner was a brilliant lyricist (just think of every song from My Fair Lady).
From Camelot, I offer:



It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That lovely month when ev'ryone goes
Blissfully astray

It's here!
That shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts
Merrily appear!

It's May! It's May!
That gorgeous holiday
When ev'ry maiden prays that her lad
Will be a cad!

It's mad! It's gay!
A libelous display!
Those dreary vows that ev'ryone takes
Ev'ryone breaks
Ev'ryone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May!

It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That darling month when ev'ryone throws
Self-control away

It's time to do
A wretched thing or two,
& try to make each precious day
One you'll always rue!
It's May! It's May!
The month of "yes you may",
The time for ev'ry frivolous whim,
Proper or "im"

It's wild! It's gay!
A blot in ev'ry way
The birds & bees with all of their vast
Amorous past
Gaze at the human race aghast,
The lusty month of May!



So...pick some posies, be one with the workers of the world & get a little lusty!