I've Got Beginner's Luck

By George and Ira Gerswhin
1937

As with many classic songs, this one was written specifically for Fred Astaire to sing on film. In this case, it was for the 1937 musical Shall We Dance, for which the Gershwins wrote a whole suite of tunes. Ironically, although Astaire introduced the song, the first recording of it would be made by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra a few months before the movie actually came out. Nearly 80 years later, the song would also be included in a Broadway musical inspired by the works of the Gershwins--An American in Paris (despite the fact that it was not part of the original 1951 film.)

Lyrics: 

At any gambling casino
From Monte Carlo to Reno,
They tell you that a beginner
Comes out a winner.
Beginner fishing for flounder
Will catch a seventeen pounder;
That's what I've always heard
And always thought absurd,
But now I believe every word!

For I've got beginner's luck;
The first time I'm in love
I'm in love with you,
Gosh I'm lucky!

I've got beginner's luck;
There never was such a smile
Or such eyes of blue,
Gosh I'm fortunate!

This thing we've begun
Is much more than a pastime,
For this time is the one
Where the first time is the last time!

I've got beginner's luck,
Lucky through and through,
For the first time that I'm in love,
I'm in love with you!

Recorded By:

Bobby Short
Ella Fitzgerald
Maureen McGovern
Chris Connor
Tommy Dorsey