Mad Dogs and Englishmen (song) Mad Dogs and Englishmen (song) "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is a song written by Noël Coward and first performed in "The Third Little Show" at the Music Box Theatre, New York, on 1 June 1931, by Beatrice Lillie. The following year it was used in the revue "Words and Music" and also released in a "studio version". It then became a signature feature in Coward's cabaret act. The song is especially known for the line "Only Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun" with which most verses begin and end. According to Sheridan Morley, Coward wrote the
Cry Me a River (Arthur Hamilton song) Makes!" also in 1959; a version by Barbra Streisand on her 1963 debut album as the opening track of Side 1; a version by Lesley Gore on her 1963 debut album "I'll Cry If I Want To"; and a version by English singer Joe Cocker, who made the chart in 1970 with an upbeat rock rendition on the album, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen". Crystal Gayle recorded the song in 1978, and it was the B-side of her number-one Country hit, "Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For". The song was covered by Aerosmith on their 1982 album