Stella By Starlight

By Victor Young & Ned Washington
1944

A rare example of a hit love song that was actually written for a horror movie, this song was the theme for the classic ghost story, The Uninvited. Washington's lyrics (which are never sung in the movie) are unique in that because he had trouble fitting the title into the melody, he had to arbitrarily place it in the middle of the refrain, making this a rare example of a standard in which the title is not mentioned in the opening or closing line. Young and his orchestra introduced the song in the film, but Harry James' orchestra was the first to release it on record three years later.

For more on The Uninvited, check out my other blog, The Vault of Horror.

Lyrics:

The song a robin sings,
Through years of endless springs;
The murmur of a brook at eventides;
That ripples through a nook where two lovers hide--

That great symphonic theme,
That's Stella by starlight,
And not a dream.
My heart and I agree,
She's everything on Earth to me.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ray Charles
Charlie Parker
Stan Getz
Stan Kenton