The Potency of Noël Coward

For other reasons altogether, I was in search of the source of the quote:

"never underestimate the potency of cheap music."

Now…a quip of that nature can only have come from a limited handful of sources…I was initially guessing Oscar WildeMark Twain probably said something similar. But no. It was our dear, dear Noël Coward, of course, putting the words in the mouth of his beloved Gertrude Lawrence as she played "Amanda Prynne" in Private Lives (a role he wrote specifically for her, with him playing opposite as "Elyot Chase".)

And so…apropos of nothing other than my own recent reading of The Letters of Noel Coward (a delectable read of the first order)… and, of course, it’s Friday and it’s been a long week…here, ladies and gentemen is the estimable Sir Noël Coward potently–and inimitably–singing one of his own, most famous, but hardly cheap, songs.

Enjoy:

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