The Straw Boater Rag (Hundreds of Hats) | Demo | Howard Ashman & Jonathan Sheffer | Diamonds

Here is the demo to "The Straw Boater Rag (Hundreds of Hats)" from Hal Prince's musical revue Diamonds, written and performed by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Jonathan Sheffer.
This demo track comes from the PS Classics release "Howard Sings Ashman." For more information about the release and to order your own copy, go to www.psclassics....
Running Off-Broadway at the Circle in the Square Downtown theater, Diamonds premiered on December 16, 1984 and closed on March 31, 1985, after 122 performances. A musical revue, a plethora of lyricists and composers contributed to the score, including but not limited to Larry Grossman, Comden and Green, Cy Coleman, Kander and Ebb, David Zippel, and Alan Menken.
Howard Ashman and Jonathan Sheffer contributed one other song to the score, "Song For a Hunter College Graduate." As far as I know, no public recording of it exists. In the late eighties, the two would also begin work on the musical Fat Kid From Philly, based on the story of Albert Innaurato. However, after the two wrote at least one song ("A Day in the Life of a Fat Kid in Philly"), the project was later abandoned .
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LYRICS
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Start of the summer, a guy bought a boater
To wear to all of the games so he’d be
Smart and in fashion when flashin’ a smile
At the ladies in white.
And at the last game of summer, last moments of play,
He’d toss it up in the air, yes he’d throw it away.
There’d be hundreds of hats,
And I’ve never forgotten the sight.
Hundreds of hats, thousands of hats’d come sailing
Down on the green of the park, out of the bleachers above.
There would be thousands of hats floating like birds.
Lord, what a sight, I can’t put it in words, it meant
Summer, excitement and baseball and magic and love.
Lemonade, ices in August, paper fans, beads of sweat,
Warm and wet on your brow. Park vendors
Barking, hawking, "Peanuts! Popcorn! Red hots!"
I hear them even now.
Out of my window, I watch the crowds gather
To go to all of the games. The park gets
Packed as can be, but I don’t seem to see
Any ladies in white.
I know my last game of summer, last moment of play
Stands and waits at the corner not too far away,
So I sit at my window, stare into the stadium light
And still see
Hundreds of hats, thousands of hats, they come sailing
Down on the green of the park, out of the bleachers above.
I still see thousands of hats floating like birds.
Lord, what a sight, I can’t put it in words, it means
Summer, excitement and baseball and magic and love.
(simultaneously with below)
Lemonade, ices in August, paper fans, beads of sweat,
Warm and wet on your brow. Park vendors
Barking, hawking, "Peanuts! Popcorn! Red hots!"
I hear them even now.
(simultaneously with above)
They come sailing
Down on the green of the park, out of the bleachers above.
I still see hundreds of hats floating like birds.
Lord, what a sight, I can’t put it in words, it means
Summer, excitement and baseball and magic and love.
Summer, excitement and baseball and magic
And ladies and lemonade, August and ices
And boys in their boaters
And baseball and magic and love.

[@jennycaneen]

I was in a community theatre production of this show in the late 1980s. One of my fav shows ever- and I loved how Bill Furtick sang this song 😁 Tracy Bonham ( who’s famous now God bless her) sang the Hunter College Song.

[@oklu_]

The greateat collaboration ever. Mr. Menken & Ashman

[@adelaideelliot562]

While I agree with you, Mr. Menken did not work on this particular song (see video description).

[@oklu_]

I love Howard

[@mfrogg]

this should be a better known song. I love this song so much and I wish sheet music existed for this and I'd perform it all the time!!!

[@elliebusby4304]

How sweet to hear your voice old pal.