Published 1956 Lyricist(s) Mack David | Composer(s) Harry Warren | |
"(The Same Thing Happens with) The Birds and the Bees" is a popular song, written by Harry Warren (music) and Mack David (lyrics) and published in 1956. It was written for the musical film, The Birds and the Bees (where it was performed by George Gobel and Mitzi Gaynor) and has been recorded by a number of singers, including Barbara Lyon, Alan Dale and Alma Cogan.
Alma Cogan had a #25 hit with this song in the UK: as her 1956 version credited the song as "The Birds and the Bees" and was the flip side of a cover of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (#22) it's often misreported that Alma's hit was a cover of Jewel Akens' #3 United States hit "The Birds and the Bees". Akens' hit song in fact only dates from 1965: at that time Cogan did indeed cover it but without a UK release.
Lyrics: As sung by Alma Cogan 1956
Take a girl like me, take a boy like you,
On a moonlit sail, on a sea of blue,
It’s a night in June, there’s a moon above,
Love is in the air, so they fall in love.
CHORUS: And the same thing happened with the birds and bees,
As they flit among the flowers, as they nestle in the trees.
Yes the same thing happened with the birds and bees,
And it’s happening to us tonight.
What the big giraffes like do for laughs,
And orangutans, only do in gangs.
Why love starved whale starts to fan his tail,
Where the female is, you will find the male.
CHORUS
Now it’s the reason why, kangaroos jump high,
Why the trout and perch, swim around and search,
And this common urge makes a kitten purr,
Where you see a him, you will see a her
CHORUS
Every bird, every bee,
Every he, every she,
Just like you, just like me,
Is falling_g …. in love to_nigh_t.