The Entertainer (rag)
"The Entertainer" is a 1902 piano rag by Scott Joplin which was later used as the theme music for the 1973 motion picture, The Sting. The music was adapted for the film by Marvin Hamlisch. Ironically, Scott Joplin's ragtime music was no longer popular during the 1930s, which is the time period the film is set in.
The song is a popular cell phone novelty ringtone in the United Kingdom, and it has become synonymous with the parlour game snooker. The tune is often played to accompany montages of the game on BBC television. Snooker champion Steve Davis listens to "The Entertainer" before an important match to get himself into the desired state of mind.
Lyrics
It's a little known fact that the song actually has lyrics, written by John Brimhall. Milton Berle, whose career began in the Vaudeville era, once sang the song on The Muppet Show:
- Now the curtain is going up,
- The entertainer is taking a bow,
- Does his dance step and sings his song,
- Even gets all the audience to sing along,
- Yes, he knows just what he must do,
- Knows how to bring down the house when he’s through,
- Snappy patter and jokes, he knows what pleases the folks,
- The entertainer, the star of the show.
- It was in vaudeville and he was on the bill,
- With all the singers, dancers, acrobats and clowns,
- There was a dancing bear, even a dog act there,
- And a comedian who never let ‘em down,
- But, when he came on to do his fav’rite song,
- He really wowed ‘em in the cities and the towns,
- They came from near and far, to see the vaudeville star,
- The entertainer!
- Now the curtain is going up,
- The entertainer is taking a bow,
- Does his dance step and sings his song,
- Even gets all the audience to sing along,
- Yes, he knows just what he must do,
- Knows how to bring down the house when he’s through,
- Snappy patter and jokes, he knows what pleases the folks,
- The entertainer, the star of the show.
- Snappy patter and jokes, he knows what pleases the folks,
- The entertainer, the star of the show.
Music files
| Download | File Details |
|---|---|
| The Entertainer - Scott Joplin.mid | 14 kiB, MIDI format (file description page) |
| The Entertainer - Scott Joplin.ogg | 3.1 MiB, Ogg Vorbis format (file description page) |
| Help on playing Ogg Vorbis files is available here and here. | |
The 2 files in the table are the full performance of "The Entertainer". They can be downloaded and played on a computer (use “Save Link As...” or “Download Link As...” in your browser). These renditions are played with a fast swing rhythm and embellished with a little stride piano. The 2nd file is the same performance recorded to audio, with a high quality piano.
External links
- Musical score and MIDI file at the Mutopia Project
- Lyrics and MIDI file at MickeysMIDIs.com