- George and Ira Gershwin originally wrote this song in 1926.1
- The Gershwins wrote this song for Gertrude Lawrence to perform in the 1926 musical Oh, Kay!, with book by P.G. Wodehouse.
- George Gershwin originally composed this melody as a fast dance number, but one day when he played it slowly for his brother Ira the two became convinced it ought to be a reflective ballad instead, and set it aside for just the right occasion (which turned out to be Gertrude Lawrence’s moving performance in Oh, Kay!)
- In the musical, Gertrude Lawrence sang this song as a particularly wistful number: according to one reviewer, she “wrung the withers of even the most hard-hearted,” giving the audience “an experience they would remember and relate for years.”
- Lawrence’s performance was especially affecting and introspective because in the scene, her character sang this song to a rag doll she was holding. Gershwin had found and bought that particular doll in Philadelphia for the scene.2
Sources
- Richard Crawford and Wayne J. Schneider, “Gershwin, George,” Grove Music Online (October 16, 2013), accessed October 9, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002252861.
- Philip Furia, Ira Gershwin: The Art of the Lyricist (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), ebook.
Cut IDs
20468