Barbra Streisand – Down With Love, 1963
21 year old Barbra Streisand sings a stunning version of “Down With Love” from the 1937 musical “Hooray for What!” with lyrics by EY Harburg and music by Harold Arlen. The performance is from Episode 9 of the Judy Garland Show, taped on October 4, 1963 and broadcast October 6. Um, well,… it starts out as “Down With Love” – but then at 2:49 Barbara pulls in lines from multiple showtunes until she returns to finish DWL at 3:18. But Barbra’s not done yet. At 3:40 she branches off again to close out the number. The arrangement and performance are both brilliant. Lyrics: Down with love With flowers and rice and shoes Down with love The root of all midnight blues Down with things That give you that well-known pain Take that moon Wrap it in cellophane Down with love let’s liquidate All it’s friends Like moon, June, roses And rainbow’s ends Down with songs That mourn about night and day Down with love Take it away, away Take it away, take it away Give it back to the birds To bees and the Viennese Down with eyes romantic and stupid Down with sighs, down with cupid Brother let’s stuff that dove Down with love Down with love Liquidate all it’s friends Like moon, June, roses And rainbow’s ends Down with song That mourns about night and day You are the one… And I don’t stand a chance with a ghost like you Ah, the promised kiss of Spring is here… What does my heart go dancin’ overhead… On the ceiling near my bed… We go now… Because I talk to the trees, but they don’t listen …