About a year ago - I heard this truly terrific, absolutely true story
And it just so happens that I told a couple of friends of mine this truly terrific, absolutely true story
And it just so happens that these friends of mine are song writers
And guess what happened, right, truly terrific, absolutely true song
Gather around, I've got a story to tell, About a Manhattan lady that I know very well
She lives at five Riverside, her name is Shirley Devore, And she travelled 'round the world to meet the guy next door
Well there was trouble inside apartment 29 E, 'Cause Shirley's mother and dad were as upset as can be
They said we hate to complain dear and we don't like to grouse, But your nearly 32, you should get out of the house
You gotta ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells, You gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells
It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting-a-ling, You gotta ring - them - bells
Well Shirley was 31, which she was loathe to admit, And she had never been loved, which didn't thrill her a bit
And so she sat and she thought, she thought for hours on end, And said I'll go to Chase, Manhattan, where I got me a friend
And so she borrowed a thou' and called TWA, And told her mother and dad that she was up and away
I'm gonna travel the continent, a month, maybe two, And haul me home a hus' if it's the last thing I do
You gotta ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells, You gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells
It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting-a-ling, You gotta ring - them - bells
She met a Londoner first, but they did not hit it off, 'Cause every time she approached he got a bronchial cough
And so she went to Madrid and met a handsome Senior, But he liked to throw the bull and he was no matador
She also bombed out in Brussells, in Mallorca and Rome, **Til' someone said try Dubrovnik dear before you go home
'Cause it's the kind of a town where you'll be likely to fall, And all the toni Cognoscenti find the Balkans a ball
You gotta ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells, You gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells
It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting-a-ling, You gotta ring - them - bells
And so she went to Dubruvnik and the very first day, She met a guy on the beach who took her reason away
Yes it was love at first sight and quite a beautiful scene, She said my name is Shirl Devore, he said I'm Norm Saperstein
She said are you from New York, He said that can't be denied, I've got a swell junior three at number five Riverside
Five? five Riverside Drive in New York, that's where you live? That's-that's where I live, Five? Are you sure?
As if that wasn't enough, for Shirley thought she'd gone deaf, When he told her his apartment there was 29 F
Yes, she was 'E', he was 'F', and they had not even met, Until she travelled the world to Yugoslavia yet
He'd always been right next door and she would never have known, If she hadn't tried Dubrovnik, she might still be alone
Well - there's - a - moral to learn from little Shirley Devore, Who had to borrow a thou' to find a lover next door
You girls who live in apartments, don't just stare at the wall, Open up the door and hurry out in the hall
And... - Oh Ring them bells, come on, come on, ring them bells
Make 'em sing, you'd better ring them bells
It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting-a-ling
You gotta swing them, ring them, swing them, ring them be-ells...
