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Hope for the best, expect the worst,
Some drink champagne, some die of thirst,
No way of knowing
Which way it’s going,
Hope for the best, expect the worst
!
Hope for the best, expect the worst,
The world’s a stage, we’re unrehearsed,
Some reach the top, friends,While others drop, friends,
Hope for the best, expect the worst
!
I knew a man who made a fortune that was splendid
Then he died the day he’d planned to go and spend it
Shouting “Live while you’re alive! No one will survive!”
Life is sorrow — here today and gone tomorrow.
Live while you’re alive, no one will survive –There’s no guarantee.

Hope for the best, expect the worst,
You could be Tolstoy or Fanny Hurst.
You take your chances,There are no answers,
Hope for the best expect the worst!

I knew a man who made a fortune that was splendid
Then he died the day he’d planned to go and spend it
Shouting “Live while you’re alive! No one will survive!”
Life is funny — spend your money! Spend your money! [*]
Live while you’re alive, no one will survive –There’s no guarantee.

Hope for the best, expect the worst,
The rich are blessed, the poor are cursed,
That is a fact, friends,The deck is stacked, friends,
Hope for the best, expect the –

(even with a good beginning, it’s not certain that you’re winning;
even with the best of chances,they can kick you in the pantses)
Look out for the, watch out for the worst! Hey!

[*] I have never been able to figure out exactly what this line is supposed
to be — if I’ve gotten it wrong, I’d appreciate a correction.
—–Richard Schultz
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

———————————————-

It’s been too long since I last heard the song. Or seen the movie, for that matter. But these lyrics brought back memories, and I’m going to have to corral a DVD soon to revisit Brooks’ film.

Glen, Oklahoma City

And- how the heck did he manage to make it? Where was it filmed? I want the stories- the scenes look so much like the USSR- but they aren’t. Where did he find the coal-fired steam engines!?

Besides being a fantastically good story, it’s technically astonishing.

Having seen the film when it was first released, its theme song has haunted me for years. Very clever lyrics like (paraphrased from a long ago memory) ‘you could be Tolstoy, or Fannie Hurst. Some drink champagne, some die of thirst. So hope for the best, expect the worst.’

I’m searching for the full set of lyrics.
I’ll post them when I find them.

Arye Michael Bender

Nice take on one of my favorites. An interesting harbinger of Brooks’ talent as a songwriter was a deliciously quasi-authentic-sounding spoof of doleful Russian folk songs, “Hope for the Best/Expect the Worst.” Ron and Frank were strangely touching together, and it is absolutely Dom Deluise’s funniest role ever.