Music by	George Gershwin
Lyrics by	Ira Gershwin
Date	1937
Source	Shall We Dance
Publisher	George Gershwin Music, Ira Gershwin Music, and WB Music Corp.

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a popular song written by George and Ira Gershwin for the film Shall We Dance. One of the best known lyrical passages involve two people pronouncing the same word differently. The song has been performed by the Muppets on several occasions.

The song's earliest performance was by the Two-Headed Muppet Monster and Mike Douglas in a 1966 appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. The two heads have trouble seeing eye to eye on many of the topics mentioned in the song, while Douglas serves as a mediator.

An instrumental version plays under the end of the wedding sketch at the end of episode 310 of The Muppet Show.

A full-bodied lion performed "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" with his gladiator partner, Sylvester Stallone, on episode 320 of The Muppet Show. The lion and Stallone agree to each other in song that they're just putting on a good show for the spectators.

Tony Bennett attempted to sing the duet with Johnny Fiama on episode 106 of Muppets Tonight, but the starstruck Johnny mumbled his lines and fainted halfway before the end of the first verse.

References[]

• "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" was spoofed on Sesame Street as "Sing Your Synonyms."

• Playing off of the different ways to say a given word, in a Sesame Street Letter of the Day segment, Prairie Dawn points out that the word "apricot" can be pronounced with the short or long sound of the letter A. Cookie Monster responds using each pronunciation: "Apricot, Apricot, let's call whole thing off".