A duet for the end of the world, sung by two people who have decided to be charming about it. The baritone opens with the news—the world is trembling, the future's looking thin, tomorrow might be canceled before the morning can begin—and then undercuts it: if the sky falls at midnight, at least you're looking fine. The soprano pushes it further into camp, and the bridge states the whole philosophy of the thing: if disaster comes, pin a flower to its lapel and kindly usher it in.

That was the national tone of voice in 1943, a year when the war news could still go either way and people had decided to keep dancing regardless. And one of the jokes isn't a joke. The pigeons had been drafted: the Army Signal Corps ran a pigeon service out of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and over the war supplied some 54,000 birds to the armed forces, most of them donated by civilian pigeon fanciers. That October, in Italy, one called G.I. Joe flew twenty miles in twenty minutes to call off an American bombing raid on a village the British had just taken. He was later given Britain's Dickin Medal for animal gallantry.

[Baritone]
They say the world is trembling,
And the future's looking thin—
Why, tomorrow might be canceled
'Fore the morning can begin.
But you're here beside me smiling,
So I'll take that as a sign…
If the sky falls down at midnight,
Well, at least you're looking fine.

[Chorus]
We can only hope
That the sun comes up again.
We can only hope
That the war winds settle then.
If the stars all tumble sideways
And the maps go up in smoke—
We'll still be holding hands tonight,
And we can only hope.

[Soprano]
They say the seas are rising,
And the coastlines might be gone—
Why, the pigeons might be drafted
And the moon might move along.
But darling, pour another coffee,
Let the headlines have their fun—
If the mountains start to wander,
We'll just stroll behind each one.

[Chorus]
We can only hope
That the daylight finds our door.
We can only hope
That the world won't shake much more.
If the rivers run in circles
And the clocks refuse to cope—
We'll still be humming soft tonight,
And we can only hope.

[Baritone]
Maybe thunder takes the morning,
Maybe lightning steals the noon…
Maybe time forgets to turn
And leaves us stranded with the moon.
But darling, if disaster comes,
Let's greet it with a grin—
We'll pin a flower to its lapel
And kindly usher it in.

[Chorus]
We can only hope
That the world keeps spinning true.
We can only hope
That the fates stay kind to you.
If the heavens lose their compass
And the angels miss the slope—
We'll still be side by side tonight,
And we can only hope.

[Tag]
We can only hope…
And hope's enough…
(baritone) For now.