Learn Cole Porter’s Slightly Silly Show Tune “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love”

“Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love” was written in 1928 by Cole Porter for his Broadway musical Paris. With its mildly risqué, bordering-on-absurd lyrics, the song is a lighthearted mash-up of clever wordplay and double entendre. It’s also one of those numbers that has lent itself to additional topical verses over the years—a quick search will unearth a dozen additional verses beyond the basic set I’m using here. 

Stylistically, “Let’s Do It” has been done in a wide variety of genres—ragtime, big band, cool jazz, and every pop style—generally reflecting the era during which it was recorded. Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg even did a punk rock version for the movie Tank Girl!

Compared to some of the songs we’ve covered in this series, this is a fairly adventurous arrangement using quite a few chords. However, I have offset the relatively sophisticated nature in two ways: First, I have chosen the key of F major, which takes as much advantage as possible of easy, first-position chording. Second, I’m using a fingerstyle pattern similar to the stride piano style, alternating between thumb-picked bass notes and three-note chord partials, which I pick with my index, middle, and ring fingers. I favor this technique for its clear articulation, allowing me to sound the strings I want cleanly and simultaneously, while avoiding those I don’t.

I’d recommend starting by taking the song at a slow tempo, and then picking up the pace as you get comfortable with the chord fingerings. Let’s do it!

Maurice TaniMaurice Tani is a veteran singer-songwriter and alt-country band leader based in California.