Life Does A Man A Favor
1958



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Highlights
  • Written for the 1958 Broadway show, Oh Captain! Based on the screenplay, The Captain's Paradise, by Alec Coppel.
  • Lyrics and music by Livingston and Evans, book by Al Morgan and Jose Ferrer.
  • Opened on Broadway February 4, 1958 at the Alvin Theatre and ran for 192 performances.
  • The original cast included Ronny Randall, Alexandra Danilove, Susan Johnson, Abbe Lane, Jacquelyn McKeever, Edward Platt and Paul Valentine.
  • Tony nominee for Best Musical 1958.



Recording History
The Bob Prince Quintet, Dancing With Oh Captain!, Columbia Harmony Records, #HL 7097
Vic Damone, Hits from Oh Captain!, Columbia Records, CL 1167, CO 60387
Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, The Ferrers, Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer Sing Selections from The Broadway Musical Comedy Oh Captain!, MGM Records, #E3687
The Leonard Feather and Dick Hyman Quartet with Marilyn Moore on vocals, The First Jazz Show-Tune Album With Vocals Oh Captain! Played by The Leonard Feather Dicky Hyman All Stars, MGM Records, #E3650
Tony Randall and Jacquelyn McKeever, Oh Captain! The Original Cast Album, Columbia Masterworks, #OL 5280
Tony Randall and Edward Platt and George Ritner and Bruce Mackay, Oh Captain! The Original Cast Album, Columbia Masterworks, #OL 5280 also with Louis Polacek and Nolan Van Way
Tony Randall, Oh Captain! The Original Cast Album, Columbia Masterworks, #OL 5280
Jeri Southern, Roulette, #R 4051
Stan Freeman and his Quartet, Stan Freeman and his Quartet Play Oh Captain!, Columbia Records, #HL 7097
Jon Weber, It's Never Quite the Same, Mood Records, MD-1111, 1998
Lyrics

Boy:
Life does a man a favor
When it gives him simple joys.
A home of gentle charm
From which he hates to roam;
Someone to touch his arm
And say “I’m glad you’re home!”
This is a world that I want to stay with
And face each day with composure and poise;
And the greatest favor life can ever give
Is to let me live the life I want to live. 

Girl:
Life does a girl a favor
When it gives her her kind of man.
A home of gentle charm
From which he hates to roam;
Someone to touch her arm
And say, “I’m glad we’re home!”
This is a world that I want to stay with
And face each day with new pleasures to plan;
And the greatest favor life can ever do
Is to let me live a life of love with you.

 

 
LIFE DOES A MAN A FAVOR From Jose Ferrer’s Production of Oh Captain! A musical comedy Livingston and Evans, Inc., 1958. Music and Lyrics by Jay Livignston and Ray Evans, Book by Al Morgan and Jose Ferrer, Musical Direction and Vocal Arrangements by Jay Blackton (Commercial Show Score)