Fanny convinces Eddie she has talent and he agrees to teach her the specialty for the next audition. She gets the job.
FANNY: Well-- I just put the kids to sleep And swept the shack, Took my sweet man's satchel down And watched him pack, I said, "Darlin', while the stove still smolders, Unpin your woman's hair and rub her shoulders." I threw myself across the doorway Beggin', "Stay, sweet man, stay," But there's more in my man's life Than this old hag. It's Jelly Roll Morton, and a shiny cornet, And jazzin' the rag! The lady ain't been born Can take the place of a horn, With a cornet man. A-goin' where there's blowin', Trav'lin' cornet man. Just anytime they call him He'll leave his wife and kiddies Sittin' with their tongues out To play for peanuts in a dive And blow his lungs out. He'll hop a choo-choo on a moment's notice To play some dates with Billy Bates Or Rag-time Otis! The lady ain't see light Can give a horn a fair fight With a cornet man A rootin', shootin', ever-tootin' Dapper Dan Who carries in his satchel A powder-blue Norfolk suit, A silver-plated wah-wah mute, There is whiskey, gamblin'--each one is a curse, But I'm up against a devil that's worse. Yes, a horn is my thorn, My trav'lin' cornet man!
Kill yourself! Tell me about it! Yeah! Yeah!
A powder-blue Norfolk suit, I said a silver-plated wah-wah mute, Oh he's shy on height, He's short on weight, But he's the only man can make my coffee perculate, A Dapper Dan, My cornet-playin' man.
After the performance, Nick Arnstein comes backstage, elegant in formal dress, to pay off a gambling debt to Keeney. Nick has seen the show and tells Fanny she's going to be a big star some day. Fanny asks how much Keeney is paying her, and Nick manages to jack up her salary by pretending to bid on behalf of a competitor. He gives her his card and kisses her hand. Eddie asks Fanny out for a date, but she only wants to be friends; already she has fallen for Nick, but imagines she'll