Written by Leo Robin and Arthur Schwartz for the
1946 musical The Time, The Place, and The Girl, "A Rainy Night In Rio" reached number seven on the American pop charts as performed by Sam Donohue and His Orchestra. The song was also covered by, among others, the
Andrews Sisters,
Rosemary Clooney, and much later, the disco group
Tuxedo Junction.
But if we know this song at all it's probably from the classic
1949 Warner Brothers cartoon "
Long-Haired Hare". It begins with
Bugs Bunny enthusiastically strumming a
banjo and singing while his neighbor Giovanni Jones, a famous opera performer, is trying to practice. As Jones sings, Bugs' music drifts in the window and sidetracks him so he finds himself unintentionally switching in mid-verse to whatever Bugs is singing. Infuriated, he walks up to Bugs and smashes the banjo to pieces.
If and when I locate the full lyrics to the original I will post them; the partial lyrics below are provided so you can sing along the next time you watch the cartoon.
Bugs:
What do they do on a rainy night in Rio?
What do they do when there is no starry sky?
(Oh, a starry sky!)
Where do they go when they can't go for a walk?
Do they stay home and talk?
Or do they sit and sigh?
Jones:
What do they do in Mississippi,
When skies are drippy...?
(abruptly realizes what he's singing and storms out)
Bugs:
And what do they do in Tee-ya-wanna,
When they wanna snuggle tight?
Well....