Thanks for a very enjoyable question!
I, too, had thought this was a Danny Kaye song, but I can't find any
evidence to back that up. It reminds me very much of some of the songs
from Kaye's wonderful "The Inspector General," which is set in Russia,
but I can't prove that this film was its source. Danny Kaye's wife,
Sylvia Fine, wrote almost all of his "patter" songs, and this sounds
like one of Sylvia's gems. I found it on a site that has a collection
of folk song lyrics, but somehow I can't see this as a folk song.
Palace of the Czar (Shootin' With Rasputin)
An intimate friend of the Czar was I
An intimate friend of the great Nicolai
We practically slept in the same double bed
With me at the foot and he at the head
Now all that seems distant and all that seems far
From those wonderful nights at the palace of the Czar
When we went shooting with Rasputin
Ate farina with Czarina
Blintzes with the princess and the Czar, hey, hey, hey
We were sharing tea and herring
Dipped banana in smetana
Borscht and vorscht around the samovar, olé
An intimate friend of the Czar all my life
More intimate still with his pretty young wife
We practically slept in the same double bed
Till the Czar kicked me out and he slept there instead
Then one bloody day revolution broke out
I went to see what all the fuss was about
Now here is the story, as it seemed to be
It was clearly a case of Lenin --- or me.
Yes, the Bolsheviks came, kicked me out in the cold
And all I had left were some diamonds and gold.
But I'll get my revenge here, and I'll have no pity
By giving my testimony to the House Unamerican Activities Committee!
"Palace of the Czar"
http://crydee.sai.msu.ru/public/lyrics/cs-uwp/folk/p/palace_of_the_czar
I'd like to add one note: as I recall this song, there is a line
spoken at the end which is not listed in the lyrics above, but which I
think is a real hoot:
"Yes, I was penniless. But the Czar, ah, he was... Nicholas."
My search strategy:
AlltheWeb.com: "blintzes with the princess"
http://alltheweb.com/search?cat=web&cs=utf-8&l=any&q=blintzes+with+the+princess&phrase=on
I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had researching it!
Before rating my answer, please ask for clarification if needed.
Cordially,
pinkfreud |