Till There Was You

By Meredith Wilson
1957

Written for the Broadway musical The Music Man, this catchy and melodic tune was sung on stage by Barbara Cook. However, it would actually be introduced on record one month prior to the show's December 1957 opening, when Nelson Riddle's orchestra recorded it with singer Sue Raney. Peggy Lee made the song a hit in the UK in 1961, leading to a bunch of kids known as The Beatles adding it to their early repertoire. It would appear on the Fab Four's 1962 album With the Beatles, and remains the only standard the group ever recorded.

Lyrics:

There were bells on the hill

But I never heard them ringing,
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you.

There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
Till there was you.

And there was music,
And there were wonderful roses,
They tell me,
In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew.

There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you!

Recorded By:

Shirley Jones
Anita Bryant
Sonny Rollins
Sergio Franchi
Fran Warren