The Manhattan Transfer Album

Tubby wants to play the violins' tune, but it's too light and flimsy for a big tuba. He ends up squashing the little tune, and the conductor sends him away. Tubby wanders forlornly to the edge of a pond where he meets a Bullfrog. The Bullfrog teaches him a new song that becomes Tubby's very own melody.

Tubby (Tim Hauser)
Alone am I, me and I together.
If I went away from me,
How unhappy I would be,
Me and I, oh my.


Bullfrog (Alan Paul)
Bug-Gup! Bug-Gup!
Lovely evening!
Bug-Gup! Bug-Gup!
I said. "lovely evening!"
Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!
I said, "Bee-oo-tiful evening!"
Hello! Bug-Gup!
Hello! Bug-Gup!
Hello!

Tubby (Tim Hauser)
When the buds begin to pop
And the robin takes a hop
Everybody says, "It's spring today!"
I suppose that may be so,
But I'd like for you to know
I can always tell it's spring another way/
I can always tell it's spring
When the circus comes to town;
It makes me want to sing
When I bump into a clown!
When the circus marches past
And the band goes tan-ta-ra
I know it's spring at last,
And my heart goes, "OOM-PAH!"

Tubby's Idea (Cheryl Bentyne)
Alley-oop, OOM-PAH,
Alley-oop, OOM-PAH,
An acrobat you ought to be,
Alley-oop, OOM-PAH,
Alley-oop, OOM-PAH,
Hey Tubby! You'd be a sight to see!


Elephant (Alan Paul)
Be yourself, you can't be anybody else,
Be yourself is my advice to you,
Or else you'll always be a nobody,
So be yourself, or else.
A hippopotamus
Would look very curious
Flying like a butterfly;
A fierce and hungry lion
Would look silly tryin'
To bake an apple pie.
I think you'd get a laugh
If you saw a tall giraffe
Swinging by his tail from a tree;
I think an octopus
Would look quite ridiculous
Knitting sweaters at the bottom of the sea.
So be yourself, and do the things that you know best,
Be yourself, I think that you'd be happiest
By being no one else but you.

The Jazz Band
Listen to your heart,
Listen to the clock,
Listen to the train.
A heart's got rhythm,
A clock's got rhythm,
A train's got rhythm.
You gotta have rhythm
to clap your hands,
You gotta have rhythm
to tap your feet,
You gotta have rhythm
to understand
What makes jazz is a good downbeat!
Your heart starts pumpin',
Your feet start stompin',
The whole world's jumpin';
You feel like bustin' outta your skin,
It's jazz that's got you in a spin,


You feel you've got the world
in your hand --
Jazz can really make you understand.
A rollercoaster in the sky,
A red-hot trumpet's lullabye,
A lamppost on a rainy night,
A lonesome white electric light;
A brand-new pair of golden shoes,
A bullfrog singin' out the blues --
It's all connected with a beat
That goes right down from your heart to your feet.
Is your big heart thumpin'?
Yeah, man!
Are your two feet jumpin'?
Yeah, man!
Now ain't that somethin'?
Yeah, man!
That little bit of somethin' called Jazz

Tubby misbehaves at rehearsal, and the conductor tells him to leave. Defiant, Tubby joins a marching band. It's fun at first, but all the marching finally wears him out. He can't even OOM-PAH anymore, and he longs to get back to the orchestra. Tubby escapes and runs home once again where he finds that all his friends missed him, too! Tubby realizes he belongs in the orchestra, and it makes him very happy.

Tubby (Tim Hauser)
I want to be seen,
I want to be heard;
My dream has always been
To sing like a bird.
Why can't I be
Content to just be me?
Why can't I be
Just the best that I can be?
I don't like to see me
Feeling so unhappy;
I would much rather see me
Very, very happy.

Tubby (Tim Hauser)
Oh, the duty of a tuba
When the others sing, "Tra-la,"
Is to sound just like a tuba
And say, "OOM-PAH."
But when you've got to march all day,
Not only march, but also play,
You start to lose your breath and huff,
And instead of "OOM-PAH,"
All you say is "Puff,puff, puff."
I'm a very sad tuba
'Cause I've lost my OOM-PAH
Nothing's left for me to do now
But go, "Puff蓀uff蓀uff⌦㔹㘵∻