Ring Them Bells - Live

About a year ago, I heard this truly terrific, absolutely true story
 And it just so happens that I told a couple of friends of mine
 This truly terrific, absolutely true story
 And it just so happened that these friends of mine are song writers
 And guess what happened? Right, truly terrific, absolutely true song
 Gather around, I've got a story to tell
 About a Manhattan lady that I know very well
 She lives at five Riverside, her name is Shirley Devore
 And she traveled 'round the world to meet the guy next door
 Well, there was trouble inside apartment 29 E
 'Cause Shirley's mother and dad were as upset as can be
 They said we hate to complain dear and we don't like to grouse
 But your nearly 32, you should get out of the house
 You gotta ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells
 You gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells
 It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting a ling
 You gotta ring them bells
 Well, Shirley was 31, which she was loathe to admit
 And she had never been loved, which didn't thrill her a bit
 And so she sat and she thought, she thought for hours on end
 And said I'll go to Chase, Manhattan where I got me a friend
 And so she borrowed a thou' and called TWA
 And told her mother and dad that she was up and away
 I'm gonna travel the continent, a month, maybe, two
 And haul me home a hus' if it's the last thing I do
 You gotta ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells
 You gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells
 It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting a ling
 You gotta ring them bells
 She met a Londoner first but they did not hit it off
 'Cause every time she approached he got a bronchial cough
 And so she went to Madrid and met a handsome Senior
 But he liked to throw the bull and he was no matador
 She also bombed out in Brussells, in Mallorca and Rome
 Til' someone said, "Try Dubrovnik, dear before you go home"
 'Cause it's the kind of a town where you'll be likely to fall
 And all the toni cognoscenti find the Balkans a ball
 You gotta ring them bells, you gotta ring them bells
 You gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells
 It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting a ling
 You gotta ring them bells
 And so she went to Dubruvnik and the very first day
 She met a guy on the beach who took her reason away
 Yes, it was love at first sight and quite a beautiful scene
 She said, "My name is Shirl Devore", he said, "I'm Norm Saperstein"
 She said, "Are you from New York", he said, "That can't be denied
 I've got a swell junior three at number five, Riverside"
 "Five? Five Riverside Drive in New York, that's where you live?"
 "That's, that's where I live, Five? Are you sure?"
 As if that wasn't enough for Shirley thought she'd gone deaf
 When he told her his apartment there was 29 F
 Yes, she was 'E', he was 'F' and they had not even met
 Until she traveled the world to Yugoslavia yet
 He'd always been right next door and she would never have known
 If she hadn't tried Dubrovnik, she might still be alone
 Well, there's a moral to learn from little Shirley Devore
 Who had to borrow a thou' to find a lover next door
 You girls who live in apartments, don't just stare at the wall
 Open up the door and hurry out in the hall
 And, oh ring them bells, come on, come on, ring them bells
 Make 'em sing, you'd better ring the bells
 It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting a ling
 You gotta swing them, ring them, swing them, ring them bells