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Monday, December 28, 2009

It's Easy to Remember

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1935

Another immortal Rodgers & Hart ballad written for a film that is far less remembered. In this case, the movie was Mississippi, starring W.C. Fields and Bing Crosby. Bing introduced the sophisticated lament both in the film, and with a hit recording later the same year. A fine example of the work of a sublime songwriting team.

Lyrics:

Your sweet expression,
The smile you gave me,
The way you looked when we met.
It's easy to remember,
But so hard to forget.

I hear you whisper,
"I'll always love you."
I know it's over, and yet,
It's easy to remember,
But so hard to forget.

So I must dream
To have your hand caress me,
Fingers press me tight.
I'd rather dream
Than have that lonely feeling
Stealing through the night.

Each little moment
Is clear before me,
And though it brings me regret,
It's easy to remember,
But so hard to forget.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Frank Sinatra
John Coltrane
Mel Torme
Johnny Hartman

2 comments:

Keith Saunders said...

I love this song and I played it on my New Years Eve gig -- Rodgers and Hart are my favorite of the great song writers. IS there anything better than a Lorenz Hart lyric?

B-Sol said...

I'll have to say that Johnny Mercer gives him a run for the money, but he was a very different kind of lyricist.

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