There Ought to Be a Moonlight Savings Time

By Irving Kahal & Harry Richman
1931

Introduced by the consummate Frenchman Maurice Chevalier in 1931, this song is a wonderful example of the light-hearted uptempo love songs of the early 1930s. Guy Lombardo's orchestra would have a huge hit with it the same year, taking it all the way to number one. A tongue-in-cheek confection of the Depression Era designed to take people's minds off the sad state of affairs. I know it would've worked on me...

Lyrics:

Birdies fly with new ambition, spring is in their song
Soon you'll yourself a wishin days were not so long.
If my thought is not defined, listen while I speak my mind...

There ought to be a moonlight saving time
So I could love that boy of mine
Until the birdies wake and chime
Good morning!

There ought to be a law in clover time
To keep that moon out overtime
To keep each lover's lane in rhyme
Till dawning.

You'd better hurry up, hurry up, hurry up
Get busy today.
You'd better croon a tune, croon a tune,
To the man up in the moon
And here is what I say:

There ought a Moonlight savings time
So I could love that boy of mine
Until the birdies wake and chime
Good morning!

Recorded By:

Blossom Dearie
Annette Henshaw
Ruth Etting
Ray Anthony
Hal Kemp