More than one live recording exists of
At the Drop of a Hat,
the Flanders & Swann "farrago" from which this song comes.

Which means,
that from one version to the next,
the words may vary, although the music is pretty much the same.

So if these words differ from the version you recall,
it's because they come from a recording of a different performance.
This performance was released on Parlophone
and recorded in the Fortune Theatre
roughly one year into the "farrago"'s successful run.

SONG OF REPRODUCTION

Words by Michael Flanders
Music by Donald Swann

Introduction (sung)
I had a little gramophone,
I'd wind it round and round,
And with a sharpish needle,
It made a cheerful sound.
And then they amplified it,
It was much louder then:
And used sharpened fiber needles
To make it soft again.

Today for reproduction
I'm as eager as can be:
Count me among the faithful fans
Of High -- Fi - de - li - ty!


first chorus
High Fidelity!
Hi - Fi's the thing for me,
With an LP disc and an FM set
And a corner reflex cabinet.
High frequency range
Complete with auto-change!
All the highest notes, neither sharp nor flat:
The ear can't hear as high as that!
Still, I ought to please any passing bat
With my High Fidelity!

Swann, not singing, plays the piano, a 'vamp' on the chorus.
Flanders stops singing and speaks the following over the piano.

Who made this circuit up for you, anyway?
You bought it in a shop?!
Hoo, what a terrible job.
You've got your negative feedback
coupled in with your push-pull input-output.
Take that across through your red-headed pickup to your tweeter ...
If you're modding more than eight,
you're gonna get wow on your top!
You try to bring that down
through your rumble filter to your woofer,
and what'll you get?
Flutter on your bottom!!

second chorus
High Fidelity!
'ffrr' for me!
I've an opera here that you shan't escape
On miles and miles of recording tape.
High decibel gain
Is easy to obtain.
With a tone control at a single touch,
I can make a Caruso sound like 'Hutch'.
But then, I never did care for music much:
It's the High Fidelity!

Copyright to the Estate of Flanders & Swann / EMI Records