Carburetor Song - as sung by Myrtle K. Hilo

Will you love me when my carburetor is busted?
Will you love me when I no can shift my gear?
Will you love when I need a new condenser?
And when my clutch begins to shift
Will you shed tears?
Will you love me when my battery needs re-charging?
Will you love me when I cannot blow that old horn?
And when my connecting rod is bent
And I no more one 5 cent
Will you love me, ah papa?
Will you love me, ah papa?
Will you love me when my kaʻa uwila no can go?
O kuʻu ipo
Will you love me when my kaʻa uwila no can go?

Source: Harry B. Soria, Jr. - The earliest Hawaii-based version was recorded on 49th State records by George Na'ope in the late 1940s. I believe that while George was performing in Chicago, Illinois at "Harry's Waikiki", he must have learned the tune, and Hawaiianized it to put in his act. By merging a Yiddish favorite with Hawaiian pidgin, he modified it for his audiences. Neither George nor Myrtle credited Benny Bell, so the history was temporarily lost. When Myrtle K Hilo recorded her LPs in the following decades, she re-did several of the tunes George Na'ope had made popular on 49th State earlier.


Carburetor -The Automobile Song - by Benjamin (Bell) Zamberg

A couple was once seated in a little motor car,
They were sweethearts and they didn't care who knew
They were holding hands together as the motor loudly roared
And the price of gas went up to twenty-two
He was an automobile mechanic working steady throughout the year
And in terms of his profession, he whispered in her ear

Will you love me when my carburetor's busted,
Will you love me when I cannot shift my gears?
When my spark plug is as dead as Kelsey's doorknob,
And my clutch begins to slip, will you shed tears?
Will you love me when my old exhaust gets noisy,
Will you love me when my pump is on the blink?
By heck,
When my fender has a dent,
And my piston-rod is bent,

Will you love me when my flivver is a wreck?
Will you love me when my fuel pipe is empty,
Will you love me when my rear end's worn and torn,
Will you love me when my rim-rod's old and rusty,
Will you love me when I cannot blow my horn?
Will you love me when my inner tube is busted,
Will you love me when my tank begins to leak?
By heck,
When the junkman says, "No use",
And my nuts and bolts are loose,
Will you love me when my flivver is a wreck?

Source: Charles Chuck Samberg, son of the composer - This song was originally recorded in the 1940's on the mainland and popularized by Hawaiʻi's singing cab driver, Myrtle K. Hilo. Benny Bell, a pioneer in the field of Jewish comedy was born Benjamin Zamberg (March 21, 1906 - July 6, 1999) in New York City and raised in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. His first language was Yiddish and as a teenager he found employment writing lyrics and music. After this initial introduction to show business, Benjamin Zamberg Bell took to the Vaudeville stage using the name Benny Bimbo.