How Long Has This Been Going On?
How Long Has This Been Going On? Lyrics
As a tot
When I trot-
Ted in little velvet panties
I was kissed
By my sist-
Ers, my cousins, and my aunties
Sad to tell
It was hell
An inferno worse than Dante's
So my dear I swore
"Never, never more"
On my list
I insist-
Ed that kissing must be crossed out
Now I find
I was blind
And oh, lady, how I've lost out
(Chorus)
I could cry salty tears
Where have I been all these years
Little wow, tell me now
How long has this been going on?
There were chills up my spine
And some thrills I can't define
Listen, sweet, I repeat
How long has this been going on?
Into Heaven I'm hurled
I know how Columbus felt
Finding another world
Kiss me once, then once more
What a dunce I was before!
What a break ! For Heaven's sake
How long has this been going on?
Dear when in your arms I creep
That divine rendezvous
Don't wake me, if I'm asleep
Let me dream that it's true
Kiss me twice, then once more
That makes thrice, let's make it four
What a break ! For Heaven's sake
How long has this been going on
How long has this been going on?
About
This song was originally written for the musical Funny Face, but after it was cut from the show, it was recycled for the subsequent musical Rosalie, where it was premiered by Bobbie Arnst.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In Lyrics on Several Occasions, Ira Gershwin remembered that an executive from a rival publishing house requested that the song be removed from Funny Face because his company was publishing their own song with the same title:
This was as gratuitous a request as ever I heard … I explained that eliminating a song from a book show wasn’t a one-man job; that it would take some days before conferences reached the spot, that … a new song would have to be written, learned, staged, and orchestrated.
Well, he had his wish. A couple of weeks later on the road, “How Long” was out, replaced by “He Loves and She Loves” … [it] apparently didn’t help, for even if the other “How Long” was published, I’ve never heard it or of it.
