Someone to Watch Over Me

By George and Ira Gershwin
1926

For this, the momentous 500th post here at Standard of the Day, let's fondly recall one of the absolutely unparalleled gems of the Great American Songbook, from the incomparable brothers Gershwin. George originally envisioned the melody as uptempo, but after playing around with it, he thankfully realized it would work much better as a ballad (to say the least!) Ira's lyric is an anthem of longing and fragility, traditionally associated with a female voice ever since being introduced by Gertrude Lawrence in the Broadway musical, Oh, Kay!

Lyrics:

There's a saying old, says that love is blind
Still we're often told, seek and ye shall find
So I'm going to seek a certain lad I've had in mind

Looking everywhere, haven't found him yet
He's the big affair I cannot forget
Only man I ever think of with regret

I'd like to add his initial to my monogram
Tell me, where is the shepherd for this lost lamb

There's a somebody I'm longin' to see
I hope that he turns out to be
Someone who'll watch over me

I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood
I know I could, always be good
To one who'll watch over me

Although he may not be the man

Some girls think of as handsome
To my heart he carries the key

Won't you tell him please to put on some speed
Follow my lead, oh, how I need
Someone to watch over me.

Recorded By:
Frank Sinatra
Chris Connor
Sarah Vaughan
Sammy Davis Jr.
Ray Coniff

I've Got Beginner's Luck

By George and Ira Gerswhin
1937

As with many classic songs, this one was written specifically for Fred Astaire to sing on film. In this case, it was for the 1937 musical Shall We Dance, for which the Gershwins wrote a whole suite of tunes. Ironically, although Astaire introduced the song, the first recording of it would be made by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra a few months before the movie actually came out. Nearly 80 years later, the song would also be included in a Broadway musical inspired by the works of the Gershwins--An American in Paris (despite the fact that it was not part of the original 1951 film.)

Lyrics: 

At any gambling casino
From Monte Carlo to Reno,
They tell you that a beginner
Comes out a winner.
Beginner fishing for flounder
Will catch a seventeen pounder;
That's what I've always heard
And always thought absurd,
But now I believe every word!

For I've got beginner's luck;
The first time I'm in love
I'm in love with you,
Gosh I'm lucky!

I've got beginner's luck;
There never was such a smile
Or such eyes of blue,
Gosh I'm fortunate!

This thing we've begun
Is much more than a pastime,
For this time is the one
Where the first time is the last time!

I've got beginner's luck,
Lucky through and through,
For the first time that I'm in love,
I'm in love with you!

Recorded By:

Bobby Short
Ella Fitzgerald
Maureen McGovern
Chris Connor
Tommy Dorsey

Swanee

By George Gershwin & Irving Caesar
1919

Despite all his later accomplishments, this career-making hit for Gershwin would remain the biggest hit of his entire life. Written on a train ride with Caesar one New York afternoon as a parody of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home", it was introduced in the Broadway revue Demi-Tasse. But it wasn't until the legendary Al Jolson heard it played by Gershwin at a party and incorporated it into his show Sinbad that it really took off. The song wound up selling over a million copies of sheet music, and Jolson's recording was number one for nine weeks. The money Gershwin made from it allowed him to leave Tin Pan Alley and focus on an illustrious Broadway career.

Lyrics:

I've been away from you a long time
I never thought I'd miss 'ya so
Somehow I feel, your love is real
Near you I wanna be.

The Birds are singing it is songtime
The banjos strumming soft and low
I know that you yearn for me too, Swanee you're calling me

Swanee - how I love ya, how I love ya 
My dear old Swanee. 
I'd give the world to be 
Among the folks in D-I-X-I-E-ven though my mammy's waiting for me,
Praying for me down by the Swanee. 
The folks up north will see me no more, when I get to that Swanee shore!

Recorded By:

Al Jolson
Judy Garland
Rufus Wainwright
The Muppets
The Temptations

Summertime

By George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin & DuBose Heyward
1935

Often considered the finest song in the American musical theater, this is more than a song: It's an aria, composed by Gershwin using the words of original librettist Heyward to mimic the African American folk spirituals of the day. It was introduced on stage in Gershwin's operatic masterpiece Porgy & Bess by Abbie Mitchell, who also performed the first recorded version of it (with Gershwin himself on accompanying piano). Billie Holiday was the first to have a big hit with it, and it has since become a jazz standard of the highest caliber.

Lyrics:

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Oh, Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But until that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With your daddy and mammy standing by

Recorded By:

Janis Joplin
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Sam Cooke
John Coltrane
Nina Simone

They Can't Take That Away from Me

By George & Ira Gershwin
1937

Last Thursday officially made three full years that Standard of the Day has been in existence, and to belatedly commemorate that milestone, today we shine the spotlight on one of the most celebrated standards of them all, which the Gershwin brothers composed for the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical, Shall We Dance. Astaire introduces the tune in the movie, singing it to Rogers in a rare musical number with no dancing. Ira's lyric is a perfect mixture of joy and sadness, as our lover declares to his paramour that no amount of distance could erase the memories they've shared. Also of note is the ingenious way the lyric pairs up very mundane aspects of the beloved ("The way you hold your knife"), with more profound aspects ("The way you changed my life"). A lilting, perfect melody from the immortal George Gershwin completes this ultimate love ballad. George Gershwin passed on shortly after the movie was released, but was posthumously nominated, along with his brother, for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to read and support SOTD. Let's continue keeping these old songs alive together, shall we?

Lyrics:

Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note, though by tomorrow you're gone.
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote, the melody lingers on.
They may take you from me. I'll miss your fond caress.
But though they take you from me, I'll still possess...

The way you wear your hat,
The way you sip your tea,
The memory of all that.
No, no, they can't take that away from me.

The way your smile just beams,
The way you sing off-key,
The way you haunt my dreams.
No, no, they can't take that away from me.

We may never, never meet again on the bumpy road to love,
Still I'll always, always keep the memory of...

The way you hold your knife,
The way we danced till three,
The way you changed my life,
No, no, they can't take that away from me.
No, they can't take that away from me.

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Charlie Parker
Frank Sinatra

I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise

By George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin & B.G. De Slyva
1922

A boisterous, rollicking number from the Gershwins, with a little help from De Sylva, this tune was introduced in George White's Scandals of 1922, in which it was played the Paul Whiteman orchestra, conducted by future film music impresario Max Steiner. Whiteman made a recording of it soon after, helping turn the song into one of the most memorable jazz pieces of the era, as well as a Roaring '20s anthem. The song experienced new life recently thanks to its inclusion in the Martin Scorsese film, The Aviator.

Lyrics:

All you preachers
Who delight in panning the dancing teachers,
Let me tell you there are a lot of features
Of the dance that carry you through
The gates of Hea-ven.

It's madness
To be always sitting around in sadness,
When you could be learning the steps of gladness.
You'll be happy when you can do
Just six or seven;

Begin to day!
You'll find it nice,
The quickest way to paradise.
When you practise,
Here's the thing to know,
Simply say as you go...

I'll build a stairway to Paradise
With a new step ev'ry day !
I'm gonna get there at any price;
Stand aside, I'm on my way !
I've got the blues
And up above it's so fair.
Shoes ! Go on and carry me there !
I'll build a stairway to Paradise
With a new step ev'ry day.

Ev'ry new step
Helps a bit ; but any old kind of two step,
Does as well. It don't matter what step you step,
If you work it into your soul
You'll get to Heaven.
Get bu-sy ;
Dance with Maud the countess, or just plain Lizzy:
Dance until you're blue in the face and dizzy.
When you've learn'd to dance in your sleep
You're sure to win out.

In time you'll get Saint Vitus dance,
Which beats the latest thing from France.
Take no chances on this Paradise ;
Let me give you advice.

Recorded By:

Rufus Wainwright
Sarah Vaughan
Paul Whiteman
J.D. Sebastian & Dion
Corrine Devries

A Foggy Day

By George & Ira Gershwin
1937

A truly delightful Gershwin treasure, written by the brothers for the film A Damsel in Distress. As with so many Gershwin classics, it was introduced in the movie by the one and only Fred Astaire, a performer whose class and style perfectly matched that of the song itself.

Lyrics:

A foggy day,
In London town,
It had me low,
And it had me down.
I viewed the morning
With much alarm.
The british museum
Had lost its charm.

How long, I wondered,
Could this thing last?
But the age of miracles,
It hadn't past.
And suddenly,
I saw you standing right there.
And in foggy London town,
The sun was shining everywhere.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Doris Day
Sarah Vaughan
Judy Garland
Charles Mingus

Fascinating Rhythm

George & Ira Gershwin
1924

One of the earliest hits for the Gershwins, and an early example of a pop son incorporating the syncopation common in jazz and ragtime (hence the title). It was introduced by Cliff Edwards, Fred Astaire and his sister Adele in the Broadway production Lady Be Good. It was also recently discovered to have been Tony Bennett's first released single, back in 1948 when he was singing under the name Joe Bari.

Lyrics:

Got a little rhythm, a rhythm, a rhythm
That pit-a-pats through my brain;
So darn persistent,
The day isn't distant
When it'll drive me insane.
Comes in the morning
Without any warning,
And hangs around me all day.
I'll have to sneak up to it
Someday, and speak up to it.
I hope it listens when I say:

Fascinating Rhythm,
You've got me on the go!
Fascinating Rhythm,
I'm all a-quiver.

When a mess you're making!
The neighbours want to know
Why I'm always shaking
Just like a flivver.

Each morning I get up with the sun -
Start a-hopping,
Never stopping -
To find at night no work has been done.

I know that
Once it didn't matter -
But now you're doing wrong;
When you start to patter
I'm so unhappy.

Won't you take a day off?
Decide to run along
Somewhere far away off -
And make it snappy!

Oh, how I long to be the man I used to be!
Fascinating rhythm,
On won't you stop picking on me?

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Judy Garland
Rosemary Clooney
Vic Damone
Tommy Dorsey

Love Is Here to Stay

By George & Ira Gershwin
1938

It occurred to me that the first anniversary of Standard of the Day actually passed on July 21, with zero fanfare. So, to make up for that, tonight I give you this absolute classic of classics, and the final song the Gershwins wrote together. It was written for the film The Goldwyn Follies, which came out just after George's death. In fact, Ira wrote the words specifically with his brother in mind. This majestic jewel of popular music would reach its greatest height some 13 years later in the legendary musical An American in Paris.

Lyrics:

It's very clear,
Our love is here to stay;
Not for a year,
But ever and a day.

The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies,
And in time may go!

But, oh my dear,
Our love is here to stay.
Together we're
Going a long, long way.

In time the Rockies may tumble,
Gibraltar may crumble.
They're only made of clay,
But our love is here to stay.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Dinah Washington
Carmen McRae
Billie Holiday

'S Wonderful

By George & Ira Gershwin
1927

Making clever use of 1920s slang, this song was introduced in the Gershwin stage musical Funny Face, in which it was sung by Adele Astaire (Fred's sister) and Allen Kearns. It would pop up decades later in both An American in Paris (1951), and the movie Funny Face (1957) in which Fred Astaire sang it with Audrey Hepburn. An extremely popular standard.

Lyrics:

Don't mind telling you, in my humble fash,
That you thrill me through, with a tender pash.
When you said you care, 'magine my emoshe?
I swore then and there, permanent devoshe.
You made all other men seem blah,
Just you alone filled me with ahhhhhhhh......

'S wonderful, 's marvelous,
You should care for me!
'S awful nice, 's paradise,
'S what I love to see.

You've made my life so glamorous,
You can't blame me for feeling amorous!
Oh, 's wonderful, 's marvelous,
That you should care for me!

'S magnifique, 's what I seek,
You should care for me.
'S elegant, 's what I want,
'S what I love to see.

My dear, it's four-leaf clover time,
From now on my heart's working overtime.
'S exceptional, 's no bagatelle,
That you should care for...
That you should care for...
That you should care for me.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Judy Garland
Joe Williams
John Pizzarelli
Sarah Vaughan

Willow Weep for Me

By Ann Ronell
1932

There is a bit of controversy surrounding this sublime and unusual jazz standard. Specifically, it has long been rumored that it was actually composed by George Gershwin, who was romantically involved with Ronell at the time it was published. However, this has never been proven, and Ronell was in fact a legit songwriter in her own right, also known for co-writing "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" for Disney. "Willow Weep for Me" was introduced by Paul Whiteman's orchestra, with Irene Taylor on vocals.

Lyrics:

Willow weep for me,
Willow weep for me,
Bend your branches green along the stream that runs to sea.
Listen to my plea,
Hear me willow, and weep for me.

Gone my lovers dream,
Lovely summer dream,
Gone and left me here to weep my tears into the stream.
Sad as I can be,
Hear me willow, and weep for me.

Whisper to the wind and say that love has sinned.
Left my heart a-breaking, and making a moan.
Murmur to the night to hide its starry light,
So none will see me sighing and crying all alone.

Weeping willow tree,
Weep in sympathy,
Bend your branches down along the ground and cover me.
When the shadows fall, hear me willow, and weep for me.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Nina Simone
Jack Jones
Dinah Washington

Oh, Lady Be Good!

By George & Ira Gershwin
1924

An early Gershwin number from their highly successful Broadway production Lady Be Good (starring Fred & Adele Astaire), this infectious gem was first sung by Walter Catlett. A young Ella Fitzgerald made a huge hit in 1947 with a swinging scat rendition that became one of her most identifiable recordings. The song has been associated with her ever since.

Lyrics:

Listen to my tale of woe,
It's terribly sad, but true.
All dressed up, no place to go,
Each ev'ning I'm awfully blue.
I know I'm a winsome miss.
I must win some handsome guy,
Can't go on like this.
I could blossom out I know,
With somebody just like you. So...

Oh, sweet and lovely lady, be good.
Oh, lady, be good to me.
I am so awf'ly misunderstood,
So lady, be good to me.

Oh, please have some pity.
I'm all alone in this big city.

I tell you I'm just a lonesome babe in the wood,
So, lady be good to me.

Recorded By:

Mel Torme
Django Reinhardt
Count Basie
Dizzy Gillespie
Benny Goodman

They All Laughed

By George & Ira Gershwin
1937

A charming classic written for the Astaire/Rogers musical Shall We Dance. Ginger was the one to introduce it in the movie. It's light-hearted melody and engaging, Porter-esque lyric (one of Ira Gershwin's best) has long made it a favorite of jazz and traditional pop vocalists.

Lyrics:

They all laughed at Christopher Columbus
When he said the world was round.
They all laughed when Edison recorded sound.
They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother
When they said that man could fly.

They told Marconi
Wireless was a phony.
It's the same old cry--
They laughed at me wanting you;
Said I was reaching for the moon.
But oh, you came through,
Now they'll have to change their tune.

They all said we never could be happy,
They laughed at us and how!
But ho, ho, ho!
Who's got the last laugh now?

They all laughed at Rockefeller Center,
Now they're fighting to get in.
They all laughed at Whitney and his cotton gin.
They all laughed at Fulton and his steamboat,
Hershey and his chocolate bar.

Ford and his Lizzie
Kept the laughers busy.
That's how people are.
They laughed at me wanting you,
Said it would be, "Hello, Goodbye."
And oh, you came through,
Now they're eating humble pie

They all said we'd never get together.
Darling, let's take a bow,
For ho, ho, ho!
Who's got the last laugh?
Hee, hee, hee!
Let's at the past laugh,
Ha, ha, ha!
Who's got the last laugh now?

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Stacey Kent
Chet Baker
Tony Bennett

I've Got a Crush on You

By George & Ira Gershwin
1928

This unquestioned Gershwin classic is unique in having been used for two of their musicals, Treasure Girl and Strike Up the Band. In the first of the two, it was introduced by Mary Hay and Clifton Webb. Some 15 years later, a young Frank Sinatra would make the song his own. His Columbia recording would become one the cornerstones of his budding solo career.

Lyrics:

How glad the many millions
Of Annabelles and Lillians would be,
To capture me.
But you had such persistence,
You wore down my resistance.
I fell, and it was swell.
I'm your big and brave and handsome Romeo,
How I won you I shall never, never know.
It's not that you're attractive,
But, oh, my heart grew active
When you came into view...

Ive got a crush on you, sweetie pie.
All the day and nighttime, hear me sigh.
I never had the least notion
That I could fall with so much emotion.

Could you coo? Could you care?
For a cunning cottage we could share?
The world will pardon my mush,
'Cause I have got a crush, my baby, on you.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Stacey Kent
Peggy Lee
Julie London
Michael Buble

The Man I Love

By George & Ira Gershwin
1927

This Gershwin classic originates in the first production of Strike Up the Band, which lasted for all of one day in its first Philadelphia run. The song was cut when the show was revived in New York three years later. It later became a standard thanks to Billie Holiday's famous rendition, which perfectly communicating the tender longing embodied in the material.

Lyrics:

Some day he'll come along,
The man I love.
And he'll be big and strong,
The man I love.
And when he comes my way,
I'll do my best to make him stay!

He'll look at me and smile;
I'll understand.
And in a little while,
He'll take my hand;
And though it seems absurd,
I know we both won't say a word!

Maybe I shall meet him Sunday,
Maybe Monday, maybe not.
Still I'm sure to meet him one day;
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day!

We'll build a little home
Just meant for two,
From which I'll never roam;
Who would? Would you?
And so, all else above,
I'm waiting for the man I love!

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Lena Horne
Kate Bush
Barbra Streisand
Etta James

They Can't Take That Away from Me

By George & Ira Gershwin
1937

For my 100th post here at SOTD, I'm spotlighting one of the most famous, and rightly beloved standards of all time. It's a song for which George Gershwin was posthumously nominated for the Academy Award. He and his brother had composed it for the Astaire-Rogers film Shall We Dance, but George passed away mere months after the movie's release. A poignant mixture of quiet sadness and confident joy, it perfectly expresses the feelings of two lovers parting--in a subtle and sublime manner that is rare to find, indeed.

Lyrics:

Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note,
Though by tomorrow, you're gone.
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,
The melody lingers on.
They may take you from me--
I'll miss your fond caress,
But, though they take you from me,
I'll still possess...

The way you wear your hat,
The way you sip your tea,
The memory of all that--
No, no, they can't take that away from me.

The way your smile just beams,
The way you sing off-key,
The way you haunt my dreams--
No, no, they can't take that away from me.

We may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love,
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of...

The way you hold your knife,
The way we dance till three,
The way you changed my life--
No, no, they can't take that away from me,
No--they can't take that away from me.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Charlie Parker
Anita O'Day

But Not For Me

By George & Ira Gershwin
1930

A poignant example of the Gershwin brothers' way with a heartbreaking ballad, this song was written for Ginger Rogers to perform in the original stage production of Girl Crazy--in which she also introduced the Gershwin standard "Embraceable You". A popular tune, it has since been featured in such films as Manhattan, When Harry Met Sally and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Lyrics:

They're writing songs of love,
But not for me.
A lucky star's above,
But not for me.

With love to lead the way,
I've found more clouds of gray
Than any Russian play could guarantee.

I was a fool to fall
And get that way;
Heigh-ho! alas!
And also, lack-a-day!

Although I cant dismiss
The memory of his kiss,
I guess he's mot for me.

Hes knocking on a door,
But not for me.
He'll plan a two by four,
But not for me.

I know that love's a game;
I'm puzzled, just the same,
Was I the moth or flame?
I'm all at sea.

It all began so well,
But what an end!
This is the time a feller
Needs a friend.

When every happy plot
Ends with the marriage knot,
And there's no knot for me.

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Dinah Washington
Judy Garland
John Coltrane
Ella Fitzgerald

Embraceable You

By George & Ira Gershwin
1928

Originally written for the unpublished operetta East Is West, this song sat on the shelf for two years, until the Gershwins inserted it into their smash hit 1930 Broadway production, Girl Crazy. The musical, and the song, helped make a star out of Ginger Rogers, who performed it in a number choreographed by Fred Astaire.

Lyrics:

Dozens of girls would storm up--
I had to lock my door.
Somehow i couldn't warm up
To one before.
What was it that controlled me?
What kept my love life lean?
My intuition told me
You'd come on the scene.
Lady, listen to the rhythm of my heartbeat,
And you'll get just what I mean.

Embrace me,
My sweet embraceable you.
Embrace me,
You irreplaceable you.

Just one look at you,
My heart grew tipsy in me.
You and you alone
Bring out the gypsy in me.

I love all
The many charms about you.
Above all,
I want my arms about you.

Don't be a naughty baby,
Come to papa, come to papa, do.
My sweet embraceable you.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Andy Bey
Judy Garland

Strike Up the Band

George & Ira Gershwin
1927

The Gershwins wrote this as the title song for a satirical show poking fun at jingoism and militaristic music, in which it was played by the Red Nichols orchestra, featuring the likes of Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey. It was used again in a 1940 Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney movie that bore no resemblance to the original show. The brother composers also gave it to UCLA to use as one of its school songs.

Lyrics:

Let the drums roll out,
Let the trumpet call,
While the people shout,
"Strike up the band!"

Hear the cymbals ring,
Callin' one and all
To the martial swing,
Strike up the band!

There is work to be done, to be done.
There's a war to be won, to be won.
Come, you son of a son of a gun,
Take your stand.

Fall in line, yea a bow!
Come along, let's go!
Hey, leader, strike up the band!

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Tony Bennett
Maureen McGovern
Martin Denny
Boston Pops

Isn't It a Pity?

By George & Ira Gershwin
1933

If you ever need proof that popular songs were once written for sophisticated grown-ups, ask yourself when was the last time you heard one that referenced German poetry and philosophy. This brilliant melody and lyric was composed by the Gershwins for the obscure Broadway production Pardon My English, which ran for all of 43 performances. The tune was introduced in the show by George Givot and Josephine Huston.

Lyrics:

Why did I wander,
Here and there and yonder,
Wasting precious time
For no reason or rhyme?
Isn't it a pity? Isn't it a crime?
My journey's ended,
Everything is splendid;
Meeting you today
Has given me a wonderful idea--
Here I stay.

It's a funny thing--
I look at you,
I get a thrill
I never knew.
Isn't it a pity
We never met before?

Here we are at last--
It's like a dream,
The two of us
A perfect team.
Isn't it a pity
We never met before?

Imagine all the lonely years we've wasted.
You with the neighbors,
I at silly labors.
What joys untasted,
You reading Heine,
Me somewhere in China.

Let's forget the past;
Let's both agree
That I'm for you,
And you're for me.
And it's such a pity
We never, never met before.

Imagine all the lonely year's we've wasted,
Fishing for salmon,
Losing at backgammon.
What joys untasted,
My nights were sour,
Spent with Schopenhauer.

Let's forget the past;
Let's both agree
That I'm for you,
And you're for me.
And it's such a pity
We never, never met before.

Recorded By:

Mel Torme
Stacy Kent
Ella Fitzgerald
Cleo Laine
Barbra Streisand