(<) YOU SAY, DEAF'formal' ME, (>) I-ME A-TRUE HARD-OF-HEARING. (<)
YOU DO-ASL, I-ME SIGN ENGLISH.
(<) DEAF'formal', (>) HARD-OF-HEARING, (<:) DO-ASL , (>) SIGN-ENGLISH.
COME-ON, TWO-OF-US SHOULD FRIEND.
(<:) YOU ATTEND DEAF-SCHOOL, (>) MY SCHOOL #WAS MAINSTREAM.
(<) YOU USE INTERPRETER, (>) I-ME NEED T-O LIPREAD.
COME-ON, TWO-OF-US SHOULD FRIEND.
KNOW+ IF W-WE GIVE-#UP, THAT MEAN W-WE BREAK-#UP
(2h)1-CL'go separate ways.' TOUCHED.
THAT #WOULD BREAK MY HEART.
(<:) YOU PREFER DEAF FRIEND, (>) I-ME LIKE HEARING.
WHAT'S-WRONG EAVESDROP WHAT'S-UP HEARING WORLD.
COME-ON TWO-OF-US SHOULD FRIEND.
(<:) YOU CALL YOURSELF STONE-DEAF, (>) ACCUSE-me ME THINK~HEARING.
SWEETHEART, SOMETHING WRONG?
KNOW-THAT TWO-OF-US NEED TOGETHER.
BREAK-#UP #NO-GOOD FOR US.
(<:) DON'T BREAK-#UP, (>) TWO-OF-US FRIEND.
(<:) DON'T BREAK-#UP, (>) TWO-OF-US FRIEND.
COME-ON TWO-OF-US SHOULD FRIEND.
(<:) DON'T BREAK-#UP, (>) TWO-OF-US FRIEND.
(<:) DON'T BREAK-#UP, (>) TWO-OF-US FRIEND.
COME-ON TWO-OF-US SHOULD FRIEND.
Notes: I interpreted this once for a Gay Men's Chorus and realized that a song about how to pronounce words was a bit hard to carry off, so I changed it into a song between a big-D person and a little-d deaf person. I asked the director to explain this to the audience so that the Deaf members in the audience wouldn't think that the Chorus was more aware of Deafness than they might in fact be.
DEAF'formal' - EAR CLOSED.
I-ME A-TRUE - "I am" in MCE. That is, [I], PO > NDS, FO up, touches chest, then [A], PO > NDS, FO up, touches mouth and moves away.
DO-ASL - alt.[S] moves away and opens to a [5:] with circular motion normal (perpendicular) to the chest.
COME-ON - (2h)[B^] move in circles pivoting at the wrists to beckon someone to do something.
ATTEND - (2h)[1], POs away, FOs up, hands do not move, only the index finger hinges at the knuckle like the motion in the sign #DO-DO?
#WAS [MCE] - [W], PO away, FO up, touches DS of chin, and moves back to ear while changing to an [S].
W-WE [MCE] - [W], PO > signer, FO up. Index finger touches DS below patella (shoulder blade) and swings around so that the ring finger can touches the NDS below the patella.
GIVE-#UP - (2h)[A], POs down, FOs away, move back over shoulders, opening to (2h)[B], then nod forward into (2h)[P].
BREAK-#UP - BREAK + (2h)U-P.
(2h)1-CL'go separate ways' - (2h)[1], POs away, FOs up, veer off to their respective sides as they move away from signer.
TOUCHED - Middle finger of [open 8] strikes heart.
#WOULD [MCE] - [W]. PO away, FO up, moves away, changing into a [D].
WHAT'S-WRONG - WRONG+.
EAVESDROP - FT of [X] touches ear and then curls around thumb of [C], PO > DS.
STONE-DEAF -Thumb of [A] enter ear canal and hand twists back to a [5], like the motion in INCOMPETENT.
ACCUSE-me - BLAME moving > signer.
KNOW-THAT - Starts like KNOW but twists and descends, looking almost like DON'T-KNOW except the hand twists down at the end.
Lyrics:
You say "ee-ther" and I say "ai-ther";
You say "nee-ther" I say "nai-ther";
"Ee-ther" "aI-ther", "nee-ther" "nai-ther";
Let's call the whole thing off.
You say "potato," I say "patattah";
You say "tomato", I say "tamattah";
Oh, let's call the whole thing off.
Oh, if we call the whole thing off,
Then we must part and oh
If we ever part, that would break my heart.
So, I say "ursta" you say "oyster".
I'm not gonna stop eatin' urstas just cause you say oyster.
Oh, let's call the whole thing off.
Oh, I say "paja-mas", you say "pajah-mas".
Sugar, what's the problem?
Oh, for we know we need each other so.
We'd better call the calling off off
So let's call it off; oh let's call it off.
Oh, let's call it off; baby let's call it off.
Sugar why don't we call it off?
I'm talking baby, why call it off?
Call it off.
Let's call the whole thing off.
To hear a performance of this song, go to Dictionaraoke - The singing dictyionary and click on "Fred Astaire 'let's call the whole thing off'." It sounds very strange because it is an interspliced duet between a woman and a male synthesized voice. The words and music are accurate.
