"I've Got the World on a String" was one of the songs Vic Fontaine sang in his holosuite program during the dinner show attended by Nog, Jake Sisko, and Jake's date Kesha. Following the applause, Fontaine joked, "I guess that's the response you get when you pack the house with relatives." (DS9: "It's Only a Paper Moon")
This song was, according to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 355, about the euphoria and optimism of a humanoid in love.
In the real world, the song was written by Harold Arlen (music) and Ted Koehler (lyrics) for the Cotton Club Parade in 1932, where Cab Calloway introduced it. Notable recordings were made by Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby in the 1930s, and by Frank Sinatra in 1953.
Lyrics[]
I've got a song that I sing
I can make the rain go
Any time I move my finger
Lucky me, can't you see – I'm in love
Life is a beautiful thing
As long as I hold that string
I'd be a silly so-and-so
If I should ever let it go
I've got the world on a string
sitting on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger
What a world, what a life – I'm in love
Life's a beautiful thing
As long as I hold the string
I'd be a silly so-and-so
If I should ever let her go
I've got the world on a string
sitting on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger
What a world, what a life
What a world, what a life
What a world, what a life – I'm in love