This article is about the 1956 song sung by Stanley Holloway. For the 1978 song by Wings, see With a Little Luck. For the 1999 song by DJ Luck & MC Neat, see A Little Bit of Luck.
"With a Little Bit of Luck"
Holloway as Doolittle (center), Dilworth as Harry (left), McLennan as Jamie (right) in "With a Little Bit of Luck" segment, 1957
Song
Published
1956
Genre
Showtune
Composer(s)
Frederick Loewe
Lyricist(s)
Alan Jay Lerner
"With a Little Bit of Luck" is a popular song by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, written for the 1956 Broadway play My Fair Lady.[1]
It was sung by Stanley Holloway as Alfred P. Doolittle in both the original stage and film versions.[2]
It is sung by Eliza's bin man father, Alfred P. Doolittle and is about a list of everyday situations which one finds themselves in, and a desire to take the easy way out as "With a Little Bit of Luck" one's fate might change, thus avoiding any responsibility. The song is traditionally sung in a deep Cockney accent.
The song occurs twice at Act 1 in the musicals. Both "With a Little Bit of Luck" scenes are at the same tenement in Tottenham Court Road, London in 1912. Firstly, Alfred P. Doolittle sings along with bin men Harry and Jamie who are his drinking companions after the scene Eliza's "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" and secondly (reprise), three days later, with new verses to hear of Eliza he sings along with all the common people there (ensemble) after Prof. Higgins' "I'm an Ordinary Man". However in the Holloway's film version in 1964, this song occurred only after "I'm an Ordinary Man" and some verses were omitted.
When Alfred P. Doolittle sang the other of his two songs "Get Me to the Church on Time" (Act 2), he was not an impoverished workingman but rich middle-class owing to Higgins' recommendation to an American millionaire, although Doolittle was a man who didn't want "middle-class morality". Clearly, "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "Get Me to the Church on Time" are related and similar to each other as music hall-style songs.[3]
^""With a Little Bit of Luck" from 'My Fair Lady' Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
^My Fair LadyThe British Film Institute, accessed 12 January 2012
^Dominic, McHugh (2012-07-09). Loverly: The Life and Times of My Fair Lady. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 90. ISBN 9780199827305.
and 22 Related for: With a Little Bit of Luck information
Clinical Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019) "WithaLittleBitofLuck". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 1990. Retrieved March 12, 2020...
("WithaLittleBitofLuck"). Soon after, Eliza comes to Higgins's house, seeking elocution lessons so that she can get a job as an assistant in a florist's...
is a Saint Lucian-British actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Geoffrey Butler, the butler on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...
(Chick Corea, 1967) Wintersong WithaLittleBitofLuck (Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner, 1956) With Every Breath I Take With One Look (Amy Powers, Andrew...
words that a Cockney would pronounce with [æɪ] or [aɪ] – more like "eye" [aɪ] than the Received Pronunciation diphthong [eɪ]. With the three of them nearly...
remix of Neneh Cherry's 1992 song "Buddy X". DJ Luck & MC Neat also had a chart hit with "ALittleBitofLuck" in late 1999 into early 2000. Many more UK...
1956) We All Need Love (US #67, 1956) WithaLittleBitofLuck (US #82, 1956) Till (US #63, 1957) Theme from A Summer Place (US #1, 1960) Theme for Young...
"Cracked Out". Gelman has gained recognition for appearing as the "LittleBitOfLuck" character in the "Take 5" New York Lottery ad campaign that ran from...
The following is a discography of singles and albums recorded by American singer Jo Stafford. A peaked at No. 2 on Hot Country Songs chart B Peaked at...
January 2021. Holloway, Stanley; Richards, Dick (1967). Wiv alittlebit o' luck: The life story of Stanley Holloway. London: Frewin. OCLC 3647363. Official...
after an impromptu dance with her tutor, Henry Higgins - in the small hours of the morning. In a counterpoint during the second of 3 rounds, two maids and...
alleged to have phoned the Kennedy campaign with the promise "Withalittlebitofluck and the help ofa few close friends, you're going to carry Illinois...
as a stand-in for the Covent Garden setting in the musical. "WithaLittleBitofLuck" – 2:52 "I Could Have Danced All Night" – 2:30 "The Rain in Spain"...
These are The Official UK Charts Company UK Dance Chart number one hits of 2000. The dates listed in the menu below represents the Saturday after the Sunday...
"On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from the 1956 Broadway musical My Fair Lady. It is...
performing "Why Can't the English?"; Stanley Holloway performing "WithaLittleBitofLuck; John Michael King singing "On the Street Where You Live" Camelot...
(1967). Wiv aLittleBit o' Luck: The Life Story of Stanley Holloway. London: Frewin. OCLC 3647363. Hyatt, Wesley (2004). A Critical History of Television's...