LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF. - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Call_the_Whole_Thing_Off

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates.^[5]

La canción «Let's call the whole thing off» (Cancelémoslo todo) es introducida en la película original por Fred y Ginger en Central Park, seguida de un número musical con patines y también por Homer y Marge Simpson en el capítulo «Million Dollar Maybe» en la serie Los Simpson.

The song is most famous for its "You like to-may-to /təˈmeɪtə/ / And I like to-mah-to /təˈmɑːtə/" and other verses comparing British and American English pronunciations.

The differences in pronunciation are not simply regional, however, but serve more specifically to identify class differences. At the time, typical American pronunciations were considered less "refined" by the upper-class, and there was a specific emphasis on the "broader" a sound.

 "broader" =

broad adj          figurative (accent: strong)          marcado/a adj  / cerrado/a adj  / fuerte adj mf

broad adj       (vowel, consonant: velar)  abierto/a adj

En la siguiente presentación se destaca la cuestión fonética diferenciada en las parejas de palabras que aparecen en la canción.

Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off

Song by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

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Lyrics

… Things have come to a pretty pass
Our romance is growing flat
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that
Goodness knows what the end will be
Oh, I don't know where I'm at
It looks as if we two will never be one
Something must be done

… You say either, I say either
You say neither and I say neither
Either, either, neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off, yes

… You like potato and I like potato
You like tomato and I like tomato
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto
Let's call the whole thing off

… But oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part
And oh, if we ever part
Then that might break my heart

… So if you like pyjamas and I like pyjahmas
I'll wear pyjamas and give up pyajahmas
For we know, we need each other
So we better call the calling off, off
Oh, let's call the whole thing off, yes

… You say laughter and I say larfter
You say after and I say arfter
Laughter, larfter, after, arfter
Let's call the whole thing off
You like vanilla and I like vanella
You saspiralla and I saspirella
Vanilla, vanella, chocolate, strawberry
Let's call the whole thing off

… But oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part
And, oh, if we ever part
Then that might break my heart

… So if you go for oysters and I go for ersters
I'll order oysters and cancel the ersters
For we know, we need each other
So we better call the calling off, off
Let's call the whole thing off

… Yes, you say either and you say either
You say neither and you say neither
Either, either, a-neither, a-neither
Let's call the whole thing off, oh, yes
You like potato and you like potahto
You like tomato and you like tomahto
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto
Let's call the whole thing off

… But oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part
And oh, if we ever part
Then that might break my heart

… So if you like pyjamas (I like pyjahmas)
I'll wear pyjamas (you got pyjamas)
For we know, we need each other
So we better call the calling off, off
Let's call the whole thing off
Let's call the whole thing off (yes)

VOCABULARY

come to a pretty pass= llegar a un estado de cosas malo o lamentable

a pretty pass = a bad situation

flat adj  (monotonous)  (falto de variedad)           monótono/a adj

 

call [sth] off, call off [sth] vtr phrasal sep

(cancel) The town's annual picnic was called off due to rain.

suspender⇒ vtr cancelar⇒ vtr

 

Neither   UK:*/ˈniːðər/, /ˈnaɪðər/ neither  conj      (with nor)          ni conj ·           Neither he nor she understood what was happening.  Ni él ni ella entendieron lo que estaba pasando. neither adj        (not either one)  ninguno/a adj  /  ninguno de [+ sustantivo plural] loc prnl ·            Neither boy understood what was happening. Ningún niño (Ninguno de los niños) entendió lo que estaba pasando. neither, neither of them, neither one of them pron            (not either one)  ninguno, ninguna pron I invited Steve and David to the movies this evening, but neither was interested. Invité a Steve y David al cine esta noche, pero ninguno estaba interesado             Which skirt do I like? Neither of them!  ¿Cuál falda me gusta? ¡Ninguna! neither conj       (and not either)  tampoco conj             She doesn't want to eat and neither do I. Ella no quiere comer ni yo tampoco.

Either  UK:*/ˈaɪðər/, /ˈiːðər/ either [...] or conj           (one or another) o... o... loc conj ·            Either you love me or you don't!  ¡O me amas o no! either adj          (whichever of two)         cualquiera de los dos loc adj ·            Wear either dress - they both look good.  Ponte cualquiera de los dos vestidos; ambos lucen bien. either pron        (one or another) cualquiera de los dos loc pron             I like both books. I'd be happy with either.  Me gustan los dos libros. Cualquiera de los dos me haría feliz. either adj          (each of two)     ambos/as adj ·            There's a rest area on either side of the road.  Hay una zona de descanso en ambos lados de la ruta. either adv         ('also' in the negative)    tampoco adv ·            I didn't like the film either.  A mí tampoco me gustó la película.

 

Simpsons Tomato Potato Song.mpg

Rosemary Clooney & Gene Puerling - "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"

"LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF" - CAIO FERNANDO & MARÍLIA VIGO

Film

When Harry Met Sally - potato, tomato

https://youtu.be/1YxJ52T21jY?si=UM-O6ECOVEAjoKlZ