The Gruen Watch Song

Now Shirley was a burley cutie
Dancing in the line.
She smiled across the footlights
And I knew that she was mine.
I asked to take her home
And she was sweet as she could be.
The next day was her birthday
And she wanted jewelry.

So I gave her a gorgeous Gruen
And the precision movement drove her mad.
She said it was a gem
As she fiddle with the stem.
It was the best time piece she ever had.

Now Lucy played Debussy
On the clarinet so fine.
She smiled across the footlights
And I knew that she was mine.
She played for me one night
And I was certainly impressed.
Her lips did half the work and,
Boy, her fingers did the rest..

So I have her a gorgeous Gruen
And the precision movement drove her mad.
She murmured as we kissed,
"Gee, it's curved to fit the wrist."
It was the best time piece she ever had.

Now Helen she was sellin'
Up at Woolworth's number nine.
She smiled across the counter
And I knew that she was mine.
The mean old store detective
He was mad as he could be,
For what she sold to other guys
She gave to me for free.

So I gave her a gorgeous Gruen
And the precision movement drove her mad.
She giggled with delight,
"Gee, I'll bet it runs all night."
It was the best time piece she ever had.

Now Mabel waited table
Up at Hollywood and Vine.
She smiled at me so pretty
And I thought that she was mine.
She asked me for a Cadillac
And I felt just like a dunce,
Playing second fiddle
To a jerk like Madman Muntz.

So I gave her a gorgeous Gruen,
And the precision movement drove her mad.
She said it was a prize
And she tried it on for size.
It was the best time piece she ever had.

From a loose mimeographed sheet that came into my possession at
Caltech in 1954. Mention of Madman Muntz, a widely advertised Los
Angeles car dealer in the 1940s & early 1950s, places & dates it
pretty closely. I do not know the tune.