Overcoming Defeat and Failure – Astaire and Rogers

A light hearted Hollywood approach to overcoming defeat and failure by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the movie “Swingtime” (1936)

The song was written for the film Swing Time (1936), where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Ginger plays a dance instructor whom Fred follows into her studio; he pretends to have two left feet in order to get her to dance with him. Fred sings the verse to her and she responds with the chorus. After an interlude, they dance to the tune. (Author John Mueller has written their dance “is one of the very greatest of Astaire’s playful duets: boundlessly joyous, endlessly re-seeable.”) Source: Wikipedia

Pick Yourself Up

“Pick Yourself Up”
music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields
FRED:

Please teacher, teach me something.
Nice teacher, teach me something.
I’m as awkward as a camel.
That’s not the worst.
My two feet haven’t met yet.
But I’ll be teacher’s pet yet,
‘Cause I’m going to learn to dance or burst.

GINGER:

Nothing’s impossible, I have found.
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up, dust myself off,
Start all over again.

Don’t lose your confidence if you slip.
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up; dust yourself off;
Start all over again.

Work like a soul inspired
‘Til the battle of the day is won.
You may be sick and tired,
But you’ll be a man, my son.

Will you remember the famous men
Who had to fall to rise again.
So take a deep breath;
Pick yourself up;
Dust yourself off;
Start all over again.

FRED:

I’ll get some self assurance
If your endurance is great.
I’ll learn by easy stages
If you’re courageous and wait.

To feel the strength I want to,
I must hang onto your hand.
Maybe by the time I’m fifty,
I’ll get up and do a nifty.

(dance and dialogue)

Pick yourself up; dust yourself off;
Start all over again.

(dance and dialogue)

Lyrics courtesy of Reel Classics

After pretending to not know how to dance, Astaire redeems himself and saves Ginger’s job as a dancing instructor in this followup scene: