Early Song Titles in Other Words Quiz

Answer: In The Mood

"In The Mood" was written by the great American big band leader, Glenn Miller, and became a huge hit from the time it was released in the US in 1939. The sound of the brass in this song is invigorating and exciting and makes listeners feel happy and more alive somehow. It well and truly earns the description of one of "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century" by the National Public Library.

My favourite presentation is the instrumental, but there are several different versions of lyrics as well, saucy and flirtatious, which probably shocked the sensibilities of the conservatives at the time. A few lines from the song that the Andrew Sisters made popular follow:

"Mr. What-ya-call-em what you doin' tonight
Hope you're in the mood because I'm feeling just right
How's about a corner with a table for two
Where the music's mellow in some gay rendezvous
There's no chance romancin'
With a blue attitude
You gotta do some dancin' to get
In the mood!"

Answer: Moonlight Serenade

Another song by Glenn Miller is the 1939 smooth and dreamy "Moonlight Serenade". I don't care for it at all, but from the time it was released, initially in instrumental form, it was a big US hit. Such was its popularity that Miller retained it as his "theme song" from that time on. It spent weeks at the top of music charts in several other countries as well when released there. An astonishing number of performers have recorded both this song's lyrical and instrumental versions over the years, including a presentation that proved to be one of his most popular songs when Frank Sinatra released it in 1965. Some of Glenn Miller's rather corny lyrics follow:

"I stand at your gate and the song that I sing
Is of moooooooonlight
I stand and I wait for the touch of your hand
In the Juuuuuuune night
The roses are sighing
A Moonlight Serenaaaaade".

Answer: Pennies From Heaven

When it was released in the US, "Pennies From Heaven", by Johnson and Burke, was brought to life by the great Bing Crosby, in the 1936 film of the same name. Performed by many others singers since that time, Bing's version proved to be the most popular, and was finally inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Some of its pleasant and optimistic lyrics follow:

"Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven
You'll find your fortune fallin' all over the town
Be sure that your umbrella is upside down
Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers
If you want the things you love, you must have showers
So, when you hear it thunder, don't run under a tree
There'll be pennies from Heaven for you and me".

Answer: Give My Regards to Broadway

This excellent old song was written by the extremely talented George M. Cohan for his 1904 stage production of "Little Johnny Jones" which premiered in the United States. The song went on to become one of the biggest hits of that era, and has been included in the National Public Radio's US list of the top 100 songs of the century. My favourite version is that performed by the great Al Jolson. The fascinating thing about this song is the combination of its catchy upbeat melody with its rather sad lyrics that tell of a longing for home. Part of these lyrics follow:

"Did you ever see two Yankees part upon a foreign shore
When the good ship's just about to start for Old New York once more?
With a tear-dimmed eye they say goodbye, they're friends without a doubt
When the man on the pier shouts, "Let them clear!", as the ship strikes out...

Give my regards to Broadway, remember me to Herald Square
Tell all the gang at Forty-Second Street, that I will soon be there
Whisper of how I'm yearning to mingle with the old time throng
Give my regards to old Broadway and say that I'll be there ere long".

Answer: The Way You Look Tonight

"The Way You Look Tonight" was first released as a duet between Bing Crosby and his then wife, Dixie Lee, in 1936, and has been performed by many, many artists ever since. It also appeared in the movie "Swing Time" in the same year as it was released, and in which it was sung by the inimitable Fred Astaire, going on to win an Oscar for the Best Original Song that year. I really love that old song, and every time I hear it, I get a lump in the throat. It captures perfectly the sense of time passing too quickly, and the sweet, elusive memories that are its heritage. Some of its lovely lyrics follow:

"Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight.

Oh you're so lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight".

Answer: All Of Me

The 1931 song "All of Me" was written by Marks and Simons and made popular in the US by the famous American singer and actress Ruth Etting, whose dramatic life story (or a romanticised version of same) features in the 1955 movie "Love Me or Leave Me", starring James Cagney and Doris Day. This jazz standard has a smooth swinging style, with reasonable lyrics, and has, like all the songs in this quiz, been performed by many other singers ever since. It also featured in the hilarious movie of the same name, the 1984 "All of Me" which starred Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. That film, incidentally, is well and truly worth watching. Some of the lyrics from "All of Me" follow:

"All of me, why not take all of me
Can't you see I'm no good without you
Take my lips, I want to loooooose them
Take my arms, I'll never uuuuuuse them
Your goodbye left me with eyes that cry
How can I go on dear without you
You took the parrrrrt that once was my heart
So why not take alllllll of me".

Answer: Heart And Soul

The popular US hit, "Heart and Soul" was written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser. Such is its great foot-tapping, lively rhythm and its fun words that, by 1939, three separate versions of this song had made their way up the US charts. That's pretty amazing. This number is still going strong after all these years. Part of its popularity can be accounted for by the fact that it can be played as a duet by piano students, or just for fun by anyone at all who is capable of holding a rhythm, and its use in tap-dancing routines. Some of its lyrics follow:

"Heart and soul, I fell in love with you
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do
Maddddddddly
Because you held me tight
And stole a kiss in the night
Da, da, dum
Heart and soul, I begged to be adored
Lost control, and tumbled overboard
Gladddddly
That magic night we kissed
There in the moon mist".

Answer: Blue Moon

Written by Rodgers and Hart, and released in the US in 1935, it would be hard to find a smoother instrumental number than the song "Blue Moon". Its lyrics, however, haven't particularly survived the test of time. They're just a tad corny by today's standard. However, back then and for years after, "Blue Moon" was extremely popular. Even today, it continues to be performed by various singers, and is far more appealing as a doo-wop presentation than its original slow ballad. Interestingly the composers for this number had quite a bit of bother finding suitable lyrics. Three different versions were produced, all of which went nowhere. Hart was reluctant to try again with other lyrics - who could blame him - but was convinced to do so by the head of MGM's studio publishing arm. Since that time, with the lyrics we are familiar with today, the song continues to be performed by many singers, and has appeared in various movies, including the fantastic 1978 musical comedy "Grease" which starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. A few of its lyrics follow:

"Blue moon, you saw me standing alone, doo wop doo wop doo wop doo wop
Without a dream in my heart, doo wop doo wop doo wop doo wop
Without a love of my own
Doo wop doo wop doo wop da doo wop doo wop
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for, doo wop doo wop
You heard me saying a prayer for, doo wop doo wop
Someone I really could care for
Doo wop doo wop doo wop doo wop".

Answer: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

This is an exquisite song that features sorrowful, heart-broken lyrics and a beautiful haunting melody. It has well and truly stood the test of time, being recorded by many artists since it first appeared in the 1933 musical, "Roberta", followed by its presentation by Irene Dunn in the 1935 film of the same name, which starred the lovely Fred Astaire with his dance partner Ginger Rogers. Written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach, "Some Gets In Your Eyes" showed up on screen once again in the 1952 remake of "Roberta", renamed "Lovely to Look At", and starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel. The great Nat King Cole also did an excellent rendition of this song, one which is probably my favourite, but it was the version by The Platters in 1958 that shot right up to the top of the charts in the US. Still being released by various artists well into the 21st century, the lyrics from the beautiful "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" follow:

"They asked me how I knew my true love was true
I of course replied something here inside
Cannot be denied
They said someday you'll find all who love are blind
When your heart's on fire, you must realise
Smoke gets in your eyes
So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed
To think they would doubt our love
Yet today my love has gone away
I am without my love
Now laughing friends deride tears I cannot hide
So I smile and say when a lovely flame dies
Smoke gets in your eyes". (Sniff)

Answer: The Peanut Vendor

Every time I hear this old song, I laugh, because I had to do it in a show once wearing a basket of fruit on my head a la Carmen Miranda style. You've never seen anything sillier looking in your whole life. I'm really short, and the basket, which was about two feet tall, wobbled precariously on my head every time I moved. I was supposed to look exotic and alluring, but instead just looked short, chubby and alarmed. To make it worse, the tenors kept chortling. "The Peanut Vendor" is a Cuban song that was written by Moises Simons in the early 1920s. Based on the call of street vendors, it has a fantastic Latin dance style rhythm, amusing lyrics, and is so lovely and lively that you simply want to join along in singing with it. The first Cuban song to sell a million copies, it was of course written in Spanish, but later translated into English (thankfully, for me) where it did equally as well in the US. Since it first appeared, this song has been recorded more than 160 times by various artists world wide and appeared in various films. Some of its lyrics follow:

"In Cuba each merry maid, wakes up with, this serenade
Peanutttttts (they're nice and hot)
Peanutttttts (he sells a lot)
If you haven't got bananas, don't be blue
Peanuts in a little bag are calling you...
For at the very break of day
The peanut vendor's on his wayyyyy...
Big jumbos, big jumbo ones
Come buy those, peanuts roasted todayyyyy
Freshly roasted todayyyy...
If you're looking for a moral, to this song
50 million monkeys can't be wrong
Peanuts, doo bop doo bop
Peanuts, doo bop doo bop
Peanutssssss" (exit, basket wobbling precariously on head)