toodle-oo

“Helena, I’m not going to London, England, for pity’s sake, wherever it is. The idea! I am only seeing you off. I am only here to bid you a fond toodle-oo.”

She would miss the small jolt she feels while delivering her signature farewell picked up from her grandfather — “Toodle-oo!” — and watching customers’ faces light up.

“Yes, well, Henry, Richard, here we are. Lovely. Fine. Thank you so much—beautiful lunch—well, toodle-oo, yes, yes, goodbye—” The door slammed and he shot up the walk at a rapid clip.

The album even includes a brief, goofing cover of Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-oo.”

Who else would cover a 1920s Duke Ellington tune, “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo,” at a time when Chicago, John Denver and Bad Company ruled the charts?