One Meatball - Josh White; also a hit for Andrews Sisters, and Bing Crosby
"A little man walked up and down,
He found an eating place in town,
He read the menu through and through,
To see what fifteen cents could do.
One meat ball, one meat ball,
He could afford but one meat ball.
He told the waiter near at hand,
The simple dinner he had planned.
The guests were startled, one and all,
To hear that waiter loudly call,
“What, One meat ball, one meat ball?
Hey, this here gent wants one meat ball.”
The little man felt ill at ease,
Said, “Some bread, sir, if you please.”
The waiter hollered down the hall,
“You gets no bread with one meat ball.
“One meat ball, one meat ball,
Well, you gets no bread with one meat ball.”
The little man felt very bad,
One meat ball was all he had,
And in his dreams he hears that call,
“You gets no bread with one meat ball.
“One meat ball, one meat ball,
Well, you gets no bread with one meat ball.”
In a later recording, White adds “and no spaghetti” after the first “meat ball” in the last chorus, and many people know the song that way.