Evans and Livingstone wrote all the songs for "Here Comes the Groom" except one -- "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." "Cool" was written for a Betty Hutton movie by Mercer and Carmichael but was not used. Later it was revived and incorporated into a Crosby movie and became the fourth and final Oscar-winning song that Bing introduced. Bing performed the song in one madcap take in the movie "Here Comes the Groom" with co-star Jane Wyman as they traveled from office to elevator to sidewalk. Jane and Bing reprised their performance for Decca and the platter charted for 6 weeks in the summer of '51.
In the cool, cool, cool of the evening I like a barbecue In the cool, cool, cool of the evening "Oui," said the bumblebee In the cool, cool, cool of the evening In the cool, cool, cool of the evening
Tell 'em I'll be there
In the cool, cool, cool of the evening
Save your pappy a chair
When the party's getting a glow on
And singin' fills the air
In the shank of the night
When the doin's are right
Well you can tell 'em I'll be there
I like to boil a ham
And I vote for bouillabaisse stew.
What's that?
I'd like a weenie bake, steak and a layer cake
And you'll get a tummy ache too
We'll rent a tent or a teepee
Let the town crier cry
"All's well!"
And if it's RSVP
This is what I'll reply:
Tell 'em we'll be there
If you need a pair of freeloaders
To fracture your affair
I may even give them Pagliacci
Now stand back and give him air
If one can relax and we'll have a few yaks
And you can tell them we'll be there
"Let's have jubilee."
"When?" said the prairie hen, "Soon?"
"Sure," said the dinosaur
"Where?" said the grisly bear
"Under the light of the moon."
"How about your brother, jackass?"
Everyone gaily cried
"Are you coming to the fracas?"
Ain't gonna blow it
"And all the respects," he sighed
Tell 'em I'll be there
In the cool, cool, cool of the evening
Stick 'em on my hair
If perchance we look a bit peeked
Remember c'est la guerre
If we're still on our feet
And there's something to eat
Well you can tell them we'll be there
Tell 'em I'll be there
In the cool, cool, cool of the evening
Better save a chair
When the party's getting a glow on
And singin' fills the air
If there's gas in my hack
and my laundry is back
If there's room for one more
And you need me
Why sure
If you need a new face or a tenor or base
If I can climb out of bed and put a head* on my head
Well you can tell 'em we'll be there.
*(The song may have been written "hat on my head," but this is not what Bing sang on the Decca recording or his radio show. Perhaps "head on my head" is a reference to a head on a beer.)