"I Went to a Marvellous Party" (sometimes known as "I've Been to a Marvellous Party") is a song with words and music by
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
, written in 1938 and included in his
Broadway
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* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
revue, ''
Set to Music
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
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Electro ...
'', in which it was performed by
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer.
She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debu ...
in January 1939. Lillie introduced the song to London audiences in June of that year in cabaret at the
Café de Paris Café de Paris may refer to:
Establishments
*Café de Paris (London), a London nightclub
* Café de Paris, Chicago, a Chicago nightclub
* Café de Paris (restaurant), Geneva
* Café de Paris (Rome), a bar in Rome, Italy
* Café de Paris (Cubzac-les ...
. It was later included in the revues ''All Clear'' (1939), ''
Cowardy Custard
''Cowardy Custard'' is a musical revue and was one of the last Noël Coward shows staged during his life. It was devised by Gerard Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye. A book, also titled ''Cowardy Custard'', was published in connection with the ...
'' (1972) and ''
Oh, Coward!
''Oh, Coward!'' is a musical revue in two acts devised by Roderick Cook and containing music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The revue consists of two men and one woman in formal dress, performing songs based on the following themes: England, family ...
'' (1972). Both Lillie and Coward made recordings of the song, which is among his most popular.
Description
The lyric of ''I Went to a Marvellous Party'' is a
first-person description of five parties attended by the singer on the
French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
. The character of the song is humorous and giddy. It has been suggested that the activities described in the lyrics were typical of the "frantic, addleheaded search for amusement" of the
Train bleu society, which flocked to the Riviera each summer in the 1920s and '30s.
In 1953 Coward described the background to the writing of the song:
Coward added, "This whole glittering episode was my original inspiration for 'I went to a Marvellous Party'. Beattie eventually sang the song in ''Set to Music'' wearing slacks, a fisherman's shirt, several ropes of pearls, a large sun-hat and dark glasses".
[Coward, p. 76]
Although Coward wrote a melody for the song, the text is most often recited over a piano accompaniment.
["I Went to a Marvellous Party"]
Noël Coward Music. Retrieved 22 September 2021 Out of Coward's approximately 300 songs, this is one of his most popular, ranking among the top 30 in royalty payments.
Performance history
Coward wrote the song with Lillie in mind, and included it in his revue ''Set to Music
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
'' which opened at the Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...
in New York on 18 January 1939. The show was a much revised version of his 1932 West End show '' Words and Music''.[Mander and Mitchenson, p. 345]
Lillie introduced the song to London audiences in June 1939 in cabaret at the Café de Paris Café de Paris may refer to:
Establishments
*Café de Paris (London), a London nightclub
* Café de Paris, Chicago, a Chicago nightclub
* Café de Paris (restaurant), Geneva
* Café de Paris (Rome), a bar in Rome, Italy
* Café de Paris (Cubzac-les ...
, and later in the year it was included in the revue ''All Clear'' at the Queen's Theatre.[ At the midnight gala at the Phoenix Theatre on 5 December 1969, marking Coward's seventieth birthday, ]Danny La Rue
Danny La Rue, (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish singer and entertainer, best known for his on-stage drag queen, drag persona. He performed in drag and also as himself in theatrical productions, television ...
performed the song. Both the British and American retrospective Coward revues in 1972 included the number, performed by Patricia Routledge
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award f ...
in ''Cowardy Custard
''Cowardy Custard'' is a musical revue and was one of the last Noël Coward shows staged during his life. It was devised by Gerard Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye. A book, also titled ''Cowardy Custard'', was published in connection with the ...
'' and Roderick Cook
Roderick Cook (9 February 1932 – 17 August 1990) was an English playwright, writer, theatre director and actor of stage, television and film. Cook is known for creating, directing and starring in the musical review '' Oh, Coward!'' and portray ...
in ''Oh, Coward!
''Oh, Coward!'' is a musical revue in two acts devised by Roderick Cook and containing music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The revue consists of two men and one woman in formal dress, performing songs based on the following themes: England, family ...
''. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commented on the former that Routledge "incredible as it may seem, actually tops Beatrice Lillie's memorable performance"." Records: Two Views of Noel Coward"
''The New York Times'', 16 February 1973, p. 26
Sheet music
The song is published separately as sheet music or in a number of collections, including the following:
*''The Noël Coward Songbook'', London: Michael Joseph, 1953
*''Noël Coward – Songs to Amuse'', London: Chappell & Co. 1970
*''A Noël Coward Gala, Volume 1'', Chappell & Co./Random House, 1972(?)
*''Cowardy Custard'', John Hadfield, ed., London: Heinemann, 1973
Lyrics alone
*''The Lyrics of Noël Coward'', London: Heinemann, 1965
*''The Complete Lyrics of Noël Coward'', Barry Day (ed.) London: Methuen, 1998.
Discography
Noël Coward
*1939. Orchestra conductor, Emmet Dolan. LP AIE 2122.
*1947. ''Noël Coward on the Air'', piano accompaniment, Mantovani. Past CD 7840
*1956. ''Noël Coward Album'', piano accompaniment, Peter Matz
Peter Matz (November 6, 1928 – August 9, 2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television and studio recording spanned fifty years, and he worked with a number of prominent ...
. Sony CD MDK 47253 AAD; CD DRG 19028 (2003).
Other recordings
*1939. Beatrice Lillie (''A Marvellous Party''), piano accompaniment, Will Irwin. AIE CD 006; PLATCD 118
*1972. Patricia Routledge
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award f ...
(''Cowardy Custard
''Cowardy Custard'' is a musical revue and was one of the last Noël Coward shows staged during his life. It was devised by Gerard Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye. A book, also titled ''Cowardy Custard'', was published in connection with the ...
''), piano accompaniment, John Burrows. RCA LSO 60160 LP
*1994. Kernan, Robertson, Gold (''Noël/Cole-Let's Do It''), Song CD 910
*1998. The Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
('' Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noel Coward'')
*2002. Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...
(''At Liberty''), DRG Theater 12994
*2017. Beverly Knight he Halcyon – TV Show
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
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* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
Notes
Sources
*
*
{{authority control
1938 songs
Comedy songs
Songs about parties
Songs written by Noël Coward