Bon Voyage Lyrics — Anything Goes

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Work: Anything Goes (Broadway opening: November 21, 1934).
2. Who sings it: Company and ensemble in Act I, tied to the departure beat on the SS American.
3. How it is billed: In the original Broadway song list it is presented as "Bon Voyage" with the parenthetical "There's No Cure Like Travel."
4. Why it works: It is a crowd number with a practical job - it moves bodies onstage while the plot boards the ship.

Anything Goes (1934) - stage musical - non-diegetic. This is not the show stopping solo and it is not trying to be. It is the bustling hinge between "we are all stuck together" and "now we are all stuck together at sea." The chorus rhythm feels like foot traffic: quick steps, shouted farewells, a last glance over the rail. Porter keeps it tight and direct, so the staging can do half the talking.

Key takeaways: The hook is simple; the purpose is kinetic. It sells motion, then hands the baton to the next bit of comedy. If you have ever watched a big ensemble cross in patterns, you can hear why this kind of writing lasts - the music is basically choreography with a melody attached.

Creation History

The song lives in a slightly slippery corner of the score history, because it is strongly linked to "There's No Cure Like Travel." In the original Broadway documentation, the title shows up as "Bon Voyage" with that parenthetical tag, a clue that the material traveled in and out of performance formats as productions changed. Later archival and reconstruction-minded recordings have also treated the "travel" material as something you can preserve even if a given staging favors the shorter departure cue. According to an academic discussion of score versions and revisions, Porter and his collaborators shaped and reshaped material as the show moved toward its New York opening.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Anything Goes starts with romance and confusion, then locks everybody onto an ocean liner where identity games and class comedy can ricochet. "Bon Voyage" hits as the ship energy takes over: passengers, crew, and onlookers push the story off the dock. It is less about one character revealing a secret and more about the whole stage becoming a moving crowd.

Song Meaning

On the surface, it is a send-off: safe travels, good luck, pleasant crossing. Underneath, it is a little nudge from the score saying, "New place, new rules." A departure chorus like this sets the tone for everything that follows: fast deals, fast flirtation, and the sense that the ship is a pressure cooker where mistakes happen quickly and forgiveness can happen even faster.

Annotations

The original Broadway song list presents the cue as "Bon Voyage" with the parenthetical "There's No Cure Like Travel."

That naming is a backstage clue. It suggests the writers and arrangers treated the moment as one departure sequence, even if a specific edition trims or expands the material for pacing.

It is sung by the company and ensemble, not a single lead.

This is why it feels like a tide. The number is built to coordinate exits, entrances, and stage business. It gives the crowd a shared purpose, which is a quiet kind of storytelling.

Reconstruction-style recordings preserve score variants, including expanded material associated with the departure sequence.

If you want the fuller historical picture, those projects matter. They show how the same dramatic moment can be framed as a quick toast or a longer travel pep talk, depending on what a production needs.

Style and momentum

The writing leans toward bright Broadway swing with clean ensemble phrasing. It is built for clarity and movement, not vocal fireworks. That is the point: you should feel the ship pull away before the scene even tells you it has.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

1. Song: Bon Voyage
2. Artist: Cole Porter
3. Featured: N/A
4. Composer: Cole Porter
5. Producer: Recording-dependent
6. Release Date: November 21, 1934 (Broadway premiere context)
7. Genre: Musical theatre; ensemble chorus
8. Instruments: Ensemble voices; Broadway pit orchestra
9. Label: Recording-dependent
10. Mood: Brisk, communal, forward-moving
11. Length: About 2:33 on a widely circulated reconstruction-style recording track listing
12. Track #: Varies by album and edition
13. Language: English
14. Album (if any): Appears on revival and reconstruction recordings of Anything Goes
15. Music style: Swing-era Broadway ensemble writing
16. Poetic meter: Accentual, conversational ensemble lyric pacing

Frequently Asked Questions

Who sings "Bon Voyage" in the show?

In documented Broadway song lists, it is assigned to the company and ensemble rather than a single lead.

Is it the same as "There's No Cure Like Travel"?

They are closely linked. The original Broadway documentation presents "Bon Voyage" with a parenthetical reference to "There's No Cure Like Travel," and later editions may expand or compress the departure material.

Where does it sit in the story?

It lands in Act I as the shipboard world takes over, functioning as a departure and transition cue.

Why is it not as famous as "You're the Top" or "Anything Goes"?

It is built as a functional ensemble hinge. Its success is measured by how smoothly it moves the scene, not by how loudly it demands applause.

Are there notable recordings that highlight it?

Yes. Reconstruction-style and cast recordings include it under the title "Bon Voyage" or as part of a combined departure track, depending on edition.

Is it in the 1936 film adaptation?

Research on the film notes that Hollywood treatments of the score involved significant changes and interpolations, so the stage song list does not map cleanly onto the movie version.

Why do some albums label it differently?

Albums often follow their production edition. Some present a combined track with the travel material; others list "Bon Voyage" as its own cue.

Additional Info

The most interesting thing about "Bon Voyage" is that it is a score historian's breadcrumb. In one official Broadway record it is a stand-alone company cue, and in another it is framed as a shorter face of a bigger travel sequence. That is not trivia for trivia's sake - it explains why audiences can swear they heard different versions and both be right.

A reconstruction-minded studio recording from the late 1980s is often discussed as a window into early orchestrations and variant material, including an appendix that preserves expanded pieces connected to the departure sequence. As stated in a university-press discussion of Porter revisions and production shaping, the show went through active textual work in 1934, and numbers like this sit right at the seam where theatre craft meets practical pacing.

Key Contributors

Sources

Sources: IBDB production record, Warner Classics track listing, Ghostlight Records track list, Presto Music catalog entry, University press chapter on Cole Porter revisions, Oxford Academic chapter on the 1936 film adaptation