By Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Mercer1939
Among the first collaborations by Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Mercer, the song came about when Van Heusen played Mercer the music, right before Mercer caught his train to Chicago, where he was appearing on a radio show with Benny Goodman. Inspired by the ride, Mercer wrote the exceptional words to the tune. It would be none other than Goodman, with Mildred Bailey on vocals, who introduced the song in 1939 with a record that went to #17.
Lyrics:
Seems that I read, or somebody said,
That out of sight is out of mind.
Maybe that's so, but I tried to go
And leave you behind, what did I find...
I took a trip on the train,
And I thought about you.
I passed a shadowy lane,
And I thought about you.
Two or three cars
Parked under the stars,
A winding stream.
Moon shining down
On some little town,
And with each beam,
The same old dream.
At every stop that we made,
I thought about you.
But when I pulled down the shade,
Then I really felt blue.
I peeked through the crack,
And looked at the track--
The one going back to you.
And what did I do?
I thought about you.
Recorded By:
Frank Sinatra
Nancy Wilson
Diana Krall
Billie Holiday
Johnny Hartman
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2 comments:
Marvelous choice. It indeed was the BG treatment that introduced me to "Thought." You hear Mildred's beautiful diction on that one. ... Mercer did love the train theme.
Of course--"Blues in the Night" was his too, wasn't it?
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