Jeepers Creepers

By Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer
1938

One of the catchiest songs of the World War II generation, and a song that remains in the mainstream consciousness to this day, "Jeepers Creepers" was written for the movie, Going Places, in which Louis Armstrong is the trainer of a horse named Jeepers Creepers (an old slang euphemism for Jesus Christ), who can only get the horse under control by playing the song for him. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Song, losing to "Thanks for the Memory". Since then it has been revisited countless times, in Warner Bros. cartoons, and in later films (including Yankee Doodle Dandy, in which a bunch of teens sing it, much to the chagrin of James Cagney's old-fashioned James M. Cohan). It even had an unlikely renaissance in the 2001 horror film of the same name, in which the song heralds the appearance of the murderous creature known as "The Creeper". With its bouncy Warren tune and irresistible Mercer lyrics, it's not tough to see why it has endured so long.

Lyrics:

Oh, jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those peepers?
Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those eyes?
Oh, gosh all, git up, how'd they get so lit up?
Gosh all, git up, how'd they get that size?

Oh, golly gee, when you turn those heaters on
Woe is me, got to put my cheaters on

Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those peepers?
Oh, those weepers, how they hypnotize!
Oh, where'd ya get those eyes?

Recorded By:

Johnny Mercer
Frank Sinatra
Al Caiola
Dave Brubeck
Tony Bennett

I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire

By Bennie Benjamin, Eddie Durham, Sol Marcus and Eddie Seiler
1938

Although written before World War II, this love ballad became an anthem of separated wartime couples due to the fact that it wasn't recorded until just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, and due to its lyrics about "setting the world on fire". The song was introduced by Harlan Leonard and His Rockets, but the major number one hit came soon after from Horace Heidt. The Ink Spots (pictured) had a number-three hit with it, but it's this version that is perhaps best know today. Oddly enough, it inspired a 1988 recording by the heavy metal band Megadeth called "Set the World Afire".

Lyrics: 

I don't want to set the world on fire
I just want to start a flame in your heart

In my heart I have but one desire
And that one is you, no other will do

I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim
I just want to be the one you love
And with your admission that you'd feel the same
I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of, believe me

I don't want to set the world on fire
I just want to start a flame in your heart

Recorded By:

Frankie Laine
Betty Carter
Vera Lynn
Fats Domino
Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

What Will I Tell My Heart?

By Jack Lawrence, Peter Tinturin & Irving Gordon

1938

A song draped in controversy! Lawrence (pictured) wrote the lyric based on a title suggested by his partner Tinturin. What Tinturin didn't mention was that he had gotten the title originally from Gordon. So when the song became a huge hit, Gordon sued through ASCAP and got part credit for the song. Due to Lawrence's connections at Decca Records, the song was introduced by Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy before they even had a publisher signed up.

Lyrics:

I'll try to explain to friends, dear,
The reason we two are apart;
I know what to tell our friends, dear
But what will I Tell My Heart

It's easy to say to strangers,
That we played a game from the start,
It's easy to lie, to strangers,
But what will I tell my heart

When I smile to hide all the tears inside,
what an ache it will bring;
Then I'll wander home to a telephone
that forgot how to ring

I could say you'll soon be back dear
To fool the whole town may be smart
I'll tell them you'll soon be back dear
But what will I tell my heart?

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Fats Domino
Vanessa Williams
Joe Williams
Bing Crosby

My Heart Belongs to Daddy

By Cole Porter
1938

Happy Father's Day to all SOTD readers... This clever hit for Porter was from his musical Leave It to Me!, in which is was introduced by Mary Martin. She would again perform the song in the 1940 motion picture Love Thy Neighbor. Both melody and lyrics are by Porter as usual, and in this case the lyric is particularly impressive, as it is no mean feat to rhyme anything with "Daddy".

Lyrics:

I used to fall in love with all those boys who maul the young cuties
But now I find I’m more inclined to keep my mind on my duties.

While tearing off a game of golf
I may make a play for the caddy
But when I do, I don’t follow through
‘cause my heart belongs to Daddy.

If I invite a boy some night
To dine on my fine finnan haddie
I just adore his asking for more
But my heart belongs to Daddy

Yes my heart belongs to Daddy
So I simply couldn’t be bad
Yes, my heart belongs to Daddy
Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da
So I want to warn you, laddie
Though I know you’re perfectly swell
But my heart belongs to Daddy
‘cause my Daddy he treats it so well

There was a dame that a football game
Made long for the strong undergraddie
I never dream of making the team
‘cause my heart belongs to daddy

Yes, my heart belongs to Daddy
So I simply couldn’t be bad
Yes, my heart belongs to Daddy
Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da
So I want to warn you, laddie
Though I know you’re perfectly swell
That my heart belongs to Daddy
‘cause my Daddy, he treats it so well.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass
Oscar Peterson
Marilyn Monroe
Della Reese

Heart and Soul

By Hoagy Carmichael & Frank Loesser
1938

One of the most instantly recognizable standards of all time--so much so that it rivals "Chopsticks" as the most common song used by those learning to play piano. Carmichael's melody follows a chord progression that would later become popular with doo-wop songs. The song was introduced by the Larry Clinton orchestra, featuring Bea Wain. It famously figured in the Tom Hanks film Big, in which Hanks and Robert Loggia "danced" out the notes on a giant piano.

Lyrics:

Heart and soul, I fell in love with you,
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do,
Madly...
Because you held me tight,
And stole a kiss in the night...

Heart and soul, I begged to be adored,
Lost control, and tumbled overboard,
Gladly...
That magic night we kissed,
There in the moon mist.

Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling,
Never before were mine so strangely willing.

But now I see, what one embrace can do,
Look at me, it's got me loving you,
Madly...
That little kiss you stole,
Held all my heart and soul.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Dave Brubeck
Milt Jackson
Dean Martin
Mel Torme

Two Sleepy People

By Hoagy Carmichael & Frank Loesser
1938

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Frank Loesser on June 29, 1910. To honor this centennial, Standard of the Day will be spotlighting Loesser songs throughout the month of June, in a little tribute I call "Heart and Soul." We kick it off with this charmer, written by Loesser with fellow songwriting giant Hoagy Carmichael. Loesser's delightful lyric concerns a couple so enthralled by each others' company that they refuse to part, despite being exhausted. It was introduced by Bob Hope & Shirley Ross as a companion piece to "Thanks for the Memories" from the previous year.

Lyrics:

Here we are, out of cigarettes,
Holding hands and yawning,
Look how late it gets.
Two sleepy people by dawn's early light,
And too much in love to say goodnight.

Here we are, in a cozy chair;
Pickin' on a wishbone from the frigidaire.
Two sleepy people with nothing to say,
And too much in love to break away.

Do you remember the nights we used to linger in the hall?
Your father didn't like me at all.
Do you remember the reason why we married in the fall?
To rent this little nest and get a bit of rest.

Well, here we are just about the same,
Foggy little fella, drowsy little dame.
Two sleepy people by dawn's early light,
And too much in love to say goodnight.

Recorded By:

Fats Waller
Carly Simon
Al Bowlly
Dean Martin
Art Garfunkel

This Can't Be Love

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1938

A fine example of the sophisticated wit and melodic gift of the Rodgers/Hart team, this song was introduced on stage by Eddie Albert and Marcy Westcott in the musical The Boys from Syracuse. Bandleaders Eddy Duchin and Benny Goodman had hits with it right after. Hart's typically clever lyric pokes fun at the traditional depictions of love in pop ballads.

Lyrics:

This can't be love, because I feel so well.
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs.
This can't be love, I get no dizzy spells.
My head is not in the skies.

My heart does not stand still,
Just to repeat,
This is too sweet to be love.
This can't be love because I feel so well,
Yet I long to look into your eyes.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Nat King Cole
Diana Krall
George Shearing
Stacey Kent

Love Is Here to Stay

By George & Ira Gershwin
1938

It occurred to me that the first anniversary of Standard of the Day actually passed on July 21, with zero fanfare. So, to make up for that, tonight I give you this absolute classic of classics, and the final song the Gershwins wrote together. It was written for the film The Goldwyn Follies, which came out just after George's death. In fact, Ira wrote the words specifically with his brother in mind. This majestic jewel of popular music would reach its greatest height some 13 years later in the legendary musical An American in Paris.

Lyrics:

It's very clear,
Our love is here to stay;
Not for a year,
But ever and a day.

The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies,
And in time may go!

But, oh my dear,
Our love is here to stay.
Together we're
Going a long, long way.

In time the Rockies may tumble,
Gibraltar may crumble.
They're only made of clay,
But our love is here to stay.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Dinah Washington
Carmen McRae
Billie Holiday

Change Partners

By Irving Berlin
1938

A number-one hit for Irving Berlin, originally written for the one and only Fred Astaire to sing to Ginger Rogers in the film Carefree. The song is one of Berlin's greatest both melodically and lyrically, and became an instant standard. It is also a fine example of the wonderful material Berlin created specifically for Astaire.

Lyrics:

Must you dance every dance with the same fortunate man?
You have danced with him since the music began.
Won't you change partners, and dance with me?

Must you dance quite so close, with your lips touching his face?
Can't you see I'm longing to be in his place?
Won't you change partners and dance with me?

Ask him to sit this one out and while you're alone,
I'll tell the waiter to tell him he's wanted on the telephone.

You've been locked in his arms ever since heaven-knows-when.
Won't you change partners and then,
You may never want to change partners again.

Recorded By:

Ozzie Nelson
Jimmy Dorsey
Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Harry Connick Jr.

You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

By Harry Warren & Johnny Mercer
1938

Sung by Dick Powell in the movie Hard to Get, in which it first appeared, the song actually became huge thanks to its first studio recording, by Bing Crosby. Although recorded many, many times over the years, it's Bing's version that remains the most instantly identifiable. Cartoon fans will also recognize the tune as a popular one incorporated often by composer Carl Stallings into Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes.

Lyrics:

Does your mother realize
The stork delivered quite a prize
The day he left you on the family tree?
Does your dad appreciate
That you're merely supergreat,
The miracle of any century?
If they don't just send them both to me.

You must have been a beautiful baby,
You must have been a wonderful child.
When you were only starting to go to kindergarten,
I bet you drove the little boys wild.

And when it came to winning blue ribbons,
You must have shown the other kids how.
I can see the judges' eyes as they handed you the prize,
You must have made the cutest bow.

You must've been a beautiful baby,
'Cause baby, look at you now.

Recorded By:

Russ Morgan
Tommy Dorsey
Bobby Darrin
Perry Como
Vic Damone

The Nearness of You

By Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington
1938

Can it possibly be that this is the first Hoagy Carmichael song covered on Standard of the Day? Apparently so! Carmichael's quiet, sweet ode to love was introduced with a hit record by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with Ray Eberle on vocals. Several years ago, Norah Jones brought new attention to it by including a recording on her acclaimed debut album Come Away With Me.

Lyrics:

It's not the pale moon that excites me,
That thrills and delights me.
Oh no,
It's just the nearness of you.

It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation.
Oh no,
It's just the nearness of you.

When you're in my arms, and I feel you so close to me,
All my wildest dreams come true.

I need no soft lights to enchant me,
If you would only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight,
And to feel in the night
The nearness of you.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Frank Sinatra
Diana Krall
Keith Richards
Les Brown

Spring Is Here

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1938

A sublime classic written by Rodgers & Hart for their 1938 musical I Married an Angel, in which it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal. Four years later, the show was adapted for the screen by MGM as a Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald vehicle.

Lyrics:

Once there was a thing called spring,
When the world was writing verses like yours and mine.
All the lads and girls would sing
When we set a little tables and drank May wine.
Now April May and June are sadly out of tune.
Life has stuck the pin in the baloon.

Spring is here!
Why doesn't my heart go dancing?
Spring is here!
Why isn't the waltz entrancing?
No desire, no ambition leads me,
Maybe it's because nobody needs me.

Spring is here!
Why doesn't the breeze delight me?
Stars appear,
Why doesn't the night invite me?
Maybe it's because nobody loves me.
Spring is here... I hear.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Bill Evans Trio
Stan Getz
Julie London
Miles Davis

You Go to My Head

By J. Fred Coots & Haven Gillespie
1938

Composed by the same team that wrote "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", this was the only major contribution to the American Songbook by the otherwise unexceptional Coots (pictured). It's known for possessing a level of sophistication not often seen in standards of the Tin Pan Alley variety. It was introduced by the Teddy Wilson orchestra, and was the last hit by the band prior to its 1940 breakup.

Lyrics:

You go to my head,
And you linger like a haunting refrain,
And I find you spinning 'round in my brain,
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

You go to my head,
Like a sip of sparkling Burgundy brew,
And I find the very mention of you
Like the kicker in a julep or two.

The thrill of the thought
That you might give a thought to my plea
Cast a spell over me.
Still I say to myself,
"Get a hold of yourself,
"Can't you see that it never can be?"

You go to my head,
With a smile that makes my temperature rise,
Like a summer with a thousand Julys,
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes.

Though I'm certain
That this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance,
In this crazy romance,
You go to my head.

Recorded By:

Coleman Hawkins
Billie Holiday
Frank Sinatra
Louis Armstrong & Oscar Peterson
Chet Baker

What's New?

By Bob Haggart & Johnny Burke
1938

Originally written by Haggart as an instrumental for Bob Crosby's orchestra, this song was composed as "I'm Free". Burke was brought in by the publisher to add lyrics, and Crosby's band introduced the tune with words in 1939. Burke's unique lyric takes up the point of view of one of the participants in a conversation between former lovers. The song was used as the title track of Linda Rondstadt's first album of standards with Nelson Riddle, in 1983.

Lyrics:

What's new?
How is the world treating you?
You haven't changed a bit.
Lovely as ever, I must admit.

What's new?
How did that romance come through?
We haven't met since then.
Gee, but it's nice to see you again.

What's new?
Probably I'm boring you.
But seeing you is grand,
And you were sweet to offer your hand.

I understand. Adieu!
Pardon my asking what's new.
Of course you couldn't know,
I haven't changed, I still love you so.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Jack Jones
Betty Carter & Carmen McRae
Sonny Rollins

Change Partners

By Irving Berlin

1938

One of the many charming classics written for Fred Astaire by Irving Berlin. This one comes from the lesser-known Astaire-Rogers musical picture Carefree. A timeless tune with a clever, plaintive lyric that has survived adaptation to many styles by many performers.

Lyrics:

Must you dance

Every dance

With the same fortunate man?

You have danced with him since the music began.

Won't you change partners,

And dance with me?

Must you dance

Quite so close,

With your lips touching his face?

Can't you see I'm longing to be in his place?

Won't you change partners,

And dance with me?

Ask him to sit this on out,

And while you're alone,

I'll tell the waiter to tell him

He's wanted on the telephone.

You've been locked

In his arms

Ever since heaven knows when.

Won't you change partners, and then,

You may never want to change partners again.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

Ella Fitzgerald

Harry Connick Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr.

Sonny Rollins

Falling in Love with Love

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1938

Rodgers came up with the idea to create the first American musical based on a Shakespearean play, and the result was The Boys from Syracuse, adapted from The Comedy of Errors. This song was one of two standards to emerge from it, the other being "This Can't Be Love". It was introduced in the show by lovely actress of stage and screen, Muriel Angelus (pictured). The successful Broadway production was turned into a movie in 1940.

Lyrics:

I weave with brightly colored strings
To keep my mind off other things;
So, ladies, let your fingers dance,
And keep your hands out of romance.
Lovely witches
Let the stitches
Keep your fingers under control.
Cut the tread but leave
The whole heart whole.
Marry maids can sew and sleep;
Wives can only sew and weep!

Falling in love with love
Is falling for make believe.
Falling in love with love
Is playing the fool;
Caring too much
Is such a juvenile fancy.
Learning to trust
Is just for children in school.

I fell in love with love
One night, when the moon was full.
I was unwise with eyes
Unable to see.
I fell in love with love,
With love everlasting,
But love fell out with me.

Recorded By:

Cannonball Adderly
Julie Andrews
Art Blakey
Vic Damone
Frank Sinatra

Don't Worry 'Bout Me

By Rube Bloom & Ted Koehler
1938

Filled with controlled longing, this melancholy tune by Bloom and long-time Harold Arlen collaborator Koehler is a complex piece that captures the feel of a loving relationship amicably ended. It was written for the Cotton Club Parade show of 1939, in which Cab Calloway introduced it. Bloom was also the composer of such equally thrilling hits as "Day In, Day Out" and "Fools Rush In".

Lyrics:

Don't worry 'bout me,
I'll get along.
Forget about me--
Be happy, my love.

Just say that our little show is over,
And so the story ends.
Why not call it a day,
The sensible way
And still be friends?

"Look out for yourself"
Should be the rule.
Give your heart and your love
To whomever you love--
Don't you be a fool.

Baby, why stop and cling
To some fading thing
That used to be?
If you can't forget,
Don't you worry 'bout me.

[Ladies and gentlemen, that is a lyric.]

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Hal Kemp
Joe Williams

Deep in a Dream

By Jimmy Van Heusen & Eddie DeLange
1938

Van Heusen and band leader DeLange (pictured) were introduced in 1938 by Tin Pan Alley song plugger Charlie Warren, and the result was this song, along with tunes like "All This and Heaven Too" and "Darn that Dream". It was first recorded by Connee Boswell, recently gone solo after her successful sister act. It was also featured in the 1939 Chuck Jones-directed Warner Bros. cartoon Naughty but Mice.

Lyrics:

I dim all the lights and I sink in my chair.
The smoke from my cigarette climbs through the air.
The walls of my room fade away in the blue,
And I'm deep in a dream of you.

The smoke makes a stairway for you to descend;
You come to my arms, may this bliss never end,
For we love anew just as we used to do
When I'm deep in a dream of you.

Then from the ceiling, sweet music comes stealing;
We glide through a lover's refrain, you're so appealing
That I'm soon revealing my love for you over again.

My cigarette burns me, I wake with a start;
My hand isn't hurt, but there's pain in my heart.
Awake or asleep, ev'ry mem'ry I'll keep
Deep in a dream of you.

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Artie Shaw
Frank Sinatra
Dave Brubeck
Cab Calloway

September Song

By Kurt Weill & Maxwell Anderson
1938

German composer Weill wrote this for the Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, in which it was introduced with a haunting rendition by Walter Huston (Angelica's grandpa). A tender expression of both regret and urgency no doubt better appreciated as one ages, "September Song" is--in this blogger's opinion--truly one of the most beautiful entries in the Great American Songbook. The great Woody Allen film Radio Days features an especially poignant instrumental version.

Lyrics:

When I was a young man courting the girls,
I played me a waiting game.
If a maid refused me with tossing curls,
I'd let the old Earth make a couple of whirls,
While I plied her with tears in lieu of pearls.
And as time came around, she came my way.
As time came around, she came.

When you meet with the young girls early in the Spring,
You court them in song and rhyme.
They answer with words and a clover ring,
But if you could examine the goods they bring,
They have little to offer but the songs they sing,
And the plentiful waste of time of day.
A plentiful waste of time.

Oh, it's a long, long while
From May to December,
But the days grow short
When you reach September.

When the autumn weather
Turns the leaves to flame,
One hasn't got time
For the waiting game.

Oh, the days dwindle down
To a precious few.
September, November--
And these few precious days
I'll spend with you.
These precious days
I'll spend with you.

Recorded By:

Sarah Vaughan
Frank Sinatra
Lou Reed
Willy Nelson
Jimmy Durante