User:Hammerdrill/party

Use of asterisk
I want to use an asterisk in an article. I type it in edit mode, and it works well when I place it following a word. However, when I type its mate lower on the page and then SAVE PAGE, I get a solid, square mark in the saved version. Is there a way to use asterisks in Wikipedia?Hammerdrill (talk) 15:54, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * You can put the asterisk between nowiki tags or use &#42&#59; as a code to generate the asterisk. Otherwise it will be interpreted by the MediaWiki software as the beginning of a list. Emil76 (talk) 16:10, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Quoting lyrics
I am having trouble inserting lyrics into an article. I can prepare the lyrics with the right formatting in, say, Notepad; but when I copy/paste them into the wikipedia box in edit mode the formatting is wrong. Also, I don't get the uniform indentation in the left margin for quoting a body of text. If I use the wikipedia tool "insert block of text," I can paste the lyrics into wikipedia's edit mode box, but ALL formatting is taken out. Can anyone help me? Thank you.Hammerdrill (talk) 21:39, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * We have special formatting - for example:
 * That makes: Bold text, Italic text, Superscript text, Subscript text, Small Text Den dodge  Talk Contribs 22:15, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * First be sure you are allowed to insert the lyrics. See: Lyrics and poetry. For an example of how to format lyrics, if you are allowed to post them here, see And did those feet in ancient time. --Teratornis (talk) 22:17, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Article
I Went to a Marvellous Party is a song with words and music by Noël Coward (1899-1973) written in 1938. Although a melody exists, the text is most often recited over a piano accompaniment. Out of Noël Coward's approximately 300 songs, this piece is one of his most popular, ranking among the top 30 in royalty potential.

The lyrics of I Went to a Marvellous* Party are a first-person description of five parties attended by the singer on the French Riviera. The character of the song is humorous and giddy. It has been suggested that the activities in the lyrics were typical of the "frantic, addleheaded search for amusement" of the Train bleu society, which flocked to the Riviera each summer in the '20s and '30s.

Noël Coward composed this song after he and Bea Lillie attended a beach party given by Elsa Maxwell in the south of France, an event which his memory placed in either 1937 or 1938. It contains direct descriptions of his experience in the first stanza: The two were invited to come as they were, but on arriving they discovered the other guests were formally dressed. Perhaps this explains why the singer claims it was hell to stay dressed as they were. "Poor Grace" in the first stanza is a reference to Grace Moore, the opera singer and movie actress, who was also a guest. The song was first sung by Bea Lillie in Set to Music in 1939.

The song is known as both I Went to a Marvellous Party and I've Been to a Marvellous Party. Although the text is published in various collections of Noël Coward songs, Coward's own recording from 1956, heard on the Noël Coward Album, contains variations from the printed page. When written out, this version does not scan well. However, Coward maintains the major textual stresses in performance and fits added words and phrases before and after the stresses. He also places the second verse after the second stanza, instead of after the third, as it appears in the sheet music.

* The spelling of the word "marvellous" in the title reflects British usage, contrasted with American usage, "marvelous."

Sheet music
The song may be found published separately as sheet music or in a number of collections, including the following:

The Noël Coward Songbook, London: Michael Joseph, 1953.

Noël Coward - Songs to Amuse, London: Chappell & Co. 1970.

A Noël Coward Gala, Volume 1, Chapell & Co./Random House, 1972(?).

Cowardy Custard, John Hadfield, Ed. London: Heinman, 1973.

Lyrics alone
The Lyrics of Noël Coward, London: Heinman, 1965.

The Complete Lyrics of Noël Coward, Barry Day (Ed.) London:  Methuen, 1998. ISBN 0413732304 / 9780413732309.

Noël Coward
1939. Orchestra conductor, Emmet Dolan. LP AIE 2122.

1947. Noël Coward on the Air, piano accompaniment, Mantovani. Past CD 7840.

1956. Noël Coward Album, piano accompaniment, Peter Matz. Sony CD MDK 47253 AAD; CD DRG 19028 (2003).

Beatrice Lillie
1939. A Marvellous Party, piano accompaniment, Will Irwin. AIE CD 006; PLATCD 118.

Other notable recordings
1972. Patrica Routledge (Cowardy Custard), RCA LSO 60160 LP.

1994. Kernan, Robertson, Gold (Noël/Cole-Let's Do It), SongCD 910.

2002. Elaine Stritch (At Liberty), DRG Theater 12994.