By admin 
Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” hits with the ease of a practiced wink—playful, confident, and strangely alive decades after it was first sung. Listeners in their golden years still find themselves tapping a foot and smiling when that brass fanfare opens.
The song sits at the brighter end of Martin’s catalogue, a sprightly counterpoint to his more reflective ballads. Pulled from the compilation Dino: The Essential Dean Martin, the track is a showcase of mid-century swing-pop craft: tight brass, buoyant piano, steady rhythm, and Martin’s famously unhurried baritone. It feels like being invited to a small, warm celebration where the band knows every joke before the punchline lands.
The arrangement is deceptively simple but precise. Brass punctuates the melody like laughter; piano and guitar trade syncopated support; drums and bass hold a steady heartbeat that never overwhelms. That restraint is what gives Martin room to do what he does best—deliver lines with a cavalier charm that makes the listener complicit in the joke.
“People think of Dean as effortless, but what you’re hearing is years of control,” said Dr. Emily Harper, music historian and author of The Crooner’s Era.
The lyrics, written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, capture the lightheaded surprise of falling in love. They are witty rather than overwrought, and Martin’s phrasing turns each image into a relaxed anecdote rather than a confession. The effect is immediate: the melody is memorable, the words land cleanly, and the whole package becomes a mood you can step into.
Instrumentation is where the record shines. Trumpets and trombones carry a celebratory tone, often answering Martin’s lines in call-and-response patterns that recall big-band showmanship. The piano provides the harmonic scaffolding—syncopated and jaunty—while a gently strummed guitar anchors the pop sensibility.
“It’s the small touches—the offbeat chords in the piano, a brief horn riff—that give the song its grin,” said Marco Alvarez, veteran arranger who worked on reissues of classic pop records.
The song’s legacy extends beyond record sales. It has threaded through films, TV, and advertising, becoming shorthand for a certain kind of easygoing romance. Older listeners often report that a single chorus can pull them back to a memory—a dance, a family gathering, a moment when life felt light. That cultural persistence explains why the track remains a staple on stations and playlists aimed at audiences who grew up with the crooner era.
Musically, “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” is an object lesson in balance. The brass is bright but never brassy for bravado’s sake; the rhythm section swings without forcing drama. Martin’s vocal, measured and slightly amused, moves like someone telling a favorite story for the third time—comforting because of its familiarity.
For listeners seeking more of the same, other Martin songs such as “Volare,” “That’s Amore,” and “Mambo Italiano” carry comparable joie de vivre, while tunes like “Everybody Loves Somebody” show his gentler side. Yet it is this particular track that captures the paradox of joy: how surprise and steadiness can live in the same phrase.
In a musical landscape that often chases the loud or the new, the song’s cool assurance stands out. It doesn’t shout; it sidles in, offers you a drink, and makes you laugh at your own astonishment that love—or a memory of it—can still feel like a gentle kick.
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Lyrics
How lucky can one guy be?
I kissed her and she kissed me.
Like the fella once said,
“Ain’t that a kick in the head?”
The room was completely black.
I hugged her and she hugged back.
Like the sailor said, quote,
“Ain’t that a hole in the boat?”
My head keeps spinning.
I go to sleep and keep grinning.
If this is just the beginning,
My life is gonna be beautiful.
I’ve got sunshine enough to spread.
It’s just like the fella said,
“Tell me quick: ain’t love a kick in the head?”
Like the fella once said,
“Ain’t that a kick in the head?”
Like the sailor said, quote,
“Ain’t that a hole in the boat?”
My head keeps spinning.
I go to sleep and keep grinning.
If this is just the beginning,
My life is gonna be beautiful.
She’s telling me we’ll be wed.
She’s picked out a king-size bed.
I couldn’t feel any better or I’d be sick.
Tell me quick, oh, ain’t love a kick?
Tell me quick, ain’t love a kick in the head?