Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is a swing-style song, written by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon. It is based on the music for "Puttin' on the Ritz", written by Irving Berlin in 1929.

The They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

It was originally performed by The Four Lads in a recording made on August 12, 1953. This recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40082. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 24, 1953, and it peaked at #10.

The lyrics humorously remind the listener of the change of the name of the city Constantinople to the Turkish name of Istanbul, professing uncertainty about how and why the names of cities change.

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