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

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

By Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
1944

One of the most popular and performed Christmas songs of all time, this beauty was written for Judy Garland to sing in the musical film Meet Me in St. Louis. The lyrics at the time were quite morose, but a 1957 version by Frank Sinatra modified the lyrics a bit, and these lyrics have been the more commonly heard ones to this day. A sad Christmas song, it was also composed during World War II, and so echoed the sentiments of many families who would be without certain members serving overseas during the holiday season. A touching, warm, and very real and human modern carol.

Lyrics:

(Original)

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light,
Next year all our troubles will be
out of sight,
So have yourself, a merry little Christmas time.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yule-tide gay
Next year all our troubles will be
miles away,
Have yourself a merry little Christmas Day.

Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were near to us
Will be dear to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

(Modern)

Have yourself a merry little christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little christmas,
Make the yule-tide gay,
From now on, our troubles will be miles away

[Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas lyrics on http://www.elyricsworld.com]

Here were are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Recorded By:

Jackie Gleason
Connie Francis
Ella Fitzgerald
The Carpenters
The Muppets

A very, very Merry Christmas from Standard of the Day...

Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart

By James F. Hanley
1934

From the Broadway revue Thumbs Up! comes this irresistible tune originally introduced by Hal Le Roy and Eunice Healey. The most famous recording would have to be the one made by Judy Garland, who made it one of her signature songs. Interestingly enough, Frank Sinatra recorded it for his 1960 album Ring-a-Ding-Ding!, but the recording was cut because the tempo didn't match the rest of the tracks. It was finally released on a deluxe CD box set decades later.

Lyrics:

Never could carry a tune, never knew where to start
You came along when everything was wrong and put a song in my heart

Dear when you smiled at me, I heard a melody
It haunted me from the start
Something inside of me started a symphony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart

'Twas like a breath of spring, I heard a robin sing
About a nest set apart
All nature seemed to be in perfect harmony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart

Your eyes made skies seem blue again
What else could I do again
But keep repeating through and through
"I love you, love you"

I still recall the thrill, guess I always will
I hope 'twill never depart
Dear, with your lips to mine, a rhapsody devine
Zing! Went the strings of my heart

Recorded By:

The Trammps
The Coasters
Billy Eckstine
Chet Baker
June Christy

That Old Black Magic

By Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer
1942

Lyricist Mercer, deeply in love with Judy Garland, and an on-and-off paramour of the iconic singer/actress, allegedly wrote the lyrics to this Arlen tune for her. One of the finest products of the legendary Arlen/Mercer collaboration, it was actually introduced on record by Garland herself. It remains one of the most recognizable standards to this day.

Lyrics:

That old black magic has me in its spell, that old black magic that you weave so well.
Those icy fingers up and down my spine,
That same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.

The same old tingle that I feel inside, and then that elevator starts its ride,
And down and down I go, round and round I go, like a leaf that's caught in the tide.

I should stay away, but what can I do?
I hear your name and I'm aflame.
Aflame with such a burning desire that only your kiss can put out the fire.

For you're the lover I have waited for, the mate that fate had me created for.
And every time your lips meet mine, darling, down and down I go, round and round I go,
In a spin, loving the spin I'm in, under that old black magic called love.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Glenn Miller
Sammy David Jr.
Louis Prima & Keely Smith

You Made Me Love You

By James V. Monaco & Joseph McCarthy
1913

This tune was originally composed for the stage revue The Honeymoon Express, and was immortalized that same year by a famous recording by Al Jolson. Yet it achieved arguably even greater heights in 1938 when a teenaged Judy Garland sang a modified version for Clark Gable at a birthday party for the actor. The rendition was added into the movie Broadway Melody of 1938, and Judy was on her way to being a mega-star.

Lyrics:

You made me love you,
I didn't want to do it, I didn't want to do it.
You made me love you,
And all the time you knew it,
I guess you always knew it.

You made me happy sometimes, you made me glad.
But there were times, Dear, you made me feel so bad.

You made me sigh for,
I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to tell you.
I want some love that's true,
Yes I do, deed I do, you know I do.

Give me, give me, give me what I cry for,
You know you got the brand of kisses that I'd die for.
You know you made me love you.

Recorded By:

Doris Day
Harry James
Glenn Miller
Rufus Wainwright
Harry Nilsson

The Boy Next Door

By Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
1944

This charming tune was written for the one and only Judy Garland, who performed it stunningly in the 1944 classic Meet Me in St. Louis. It has since become a widely performed standard, commonly changed to "The Girl Next Door" when performed by male vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, who recorded it for his criminally underrated 1962 Reprise album All Alone.

Lyrics:

The moment I saw him smile,
I knew he was just my style.
My only regret is we've never met,
Though I dream of him all the while.

But he doesn't know I exist,
No matter how I may persist.
So it's clear to see there's no hope for me,
Though I live at 5135 Kensington Avenue
And he lives at 5133.

How can I ignore the boy next door?
I love him more than I can say.
Doesn't try to please me,
Doesn't even tease me,
And he never sees me glance his way.

And though I'm heart-sore, the boy next door
Affection for me won't display.
I just adore him,
So I can't ignore him,
The boy next door.

Recorded By:

Stacey Kent
Bill Evans
Blossom Dearie
Doris Day
Barbra Streisand

Get Happy

By Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler
1930

This was the first collaboration of Cotton Club legends Arlen & Koehler, who composed it for Ruth Etting in the 1930 show The Nine-Fifteen Revue. It would become most associated with Judy Garland thanks to her iconic performance of it 20 years later in MGM's Summer Stock. The Abe Lyman recording was used as the original theme music for the Warner Bros.' cartoons. The title refers to the old gospel tradition of being touched by the Holy Spirit.

Lyrics:

Forget your troubles,
Come on, get happy!
You better chase all your cares away.
Shout Hallejulah,
Come on, get happy!
Get ready for the judgment day.

The sun is shinin',
Come on, get happy!
The lord is waitin' to take your hand.
Shout Hallejulah,
Come on, get happy!
We're going to the promised land.

We're headin' across the river
To wash your sins away in the tide.
It's all so peaceful
On the other side.

Forget your troubles,
Come on, get happy!
You better chase all your cares away.
Shout Hallejulah,
Come on, get happy!
Get ready for the judgement day.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Benny Goodman
Art Tatum
June Christy

I Wish I Were in Love Again

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1937

Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland would make a hit with it in the 1948 movie Words and Music, but Rodgers & Hart had written the tune for Grace McDonald and Rolly Pickert in the original Broadway production of Babes in Arms--the same show that produced "The Lady Is a Tramp", "Where or When?" and "My Funny Valentine". It's worth noting that the song has come under attack over the years for being misogynistic in its glorified portrayal of a woman who seemingly enjoys being abused by men.

Lyrics:

You don't know that I felt good
When we up and parted.
You don't know I knocked on wood,
Gladly broken-hearted.
Worrying is trought,
I sleep all night,
Appetite and health restored.
You don't know how much I'm bored!

The sleepless nights,
The daily fights,
The qick toboggan when you reach the heights--
I miss the kisses, and I miss the bites.
I wish I were in love again!

The broken dates,
The endless waits,
The lovely loving and the hateful hates,
The conversations with the flying plates--
I wish I were in love again!

No more pain,
No more strain.
Now I'm sane but ...
I would rather be ga-ga!

The pulled-out fur
Of cat and cur,
The fine mismating of a him and her--
I've learned my lesson, but I wish I were
In love again!

The furtive sighs,
The blackened eyes,
The words "I'll love you till the day I die",
The self-deception the believes the lie--
I wish I were in love again!

When love congeals,
It soon reveals
The faint aroma of performing seals,
The double-crossong of a pair of heels--
I wish I were in love again!

No more care,
No despair.
I'm all there now,
But I'd rather be punch-drunk!

Belive me sir,
I much prefer
The classic battle of a him and her.
I don't like quiet and
I wish I were in love again!

Recorded By:

Julie Andrews
Ella Fitzgerald
Joni Mitchell
Frank Sinatra
Judy Garland

How About You?

By Burton Lane & Ralph Freed
1941

Often also referred to as "I Like New York in June," this sweet number was written for the Busby Berkeley musical Babes on Broadway, in which it was introduced by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Lyricist Ralph Freed was the brother of movie producer Arthur Freed. On his 1956 album Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Sinatra famously changed the lyric "Franklin Roosevelt's looks" to "James Durante's looks."

Lyrics:

When a girl meets boy,
Life can be a joy,
But the note they end on
Will depend on little pleasures they will share;
So let us compare.

I like New York in June,
How about you?
I like a Gershwin tune,
How about you?
I love a fireside when a storm is due.
I like potato chips, moonlight and motor trips,
How about you?

I'm mad about good books,
Can't get my fill,
And Franklin Roosevelt's looks
Give me a thrill.
Holding hands at the movie show,
When all the lights are low
May not be new,
But I like it, how about you?

[Duet]
I like Jack Benny's jokes.
To a degree.
I love the common folks.
That includes me.
I like to window shop on 5th Avenue.
I like banana splits, late supper at the Ritz, how about you?

[Duet]
I love to dream of fame, maybe I'll shine.
I'd love to see your name right beside mine.
I can see we're in harmony.
Looks like we both agree on what to do.
And I like it, how about you?

Recorded By:

Tommy Dorsey
Buddy Greco
Tony Bennett
Frank Sinatra
Judy Garland