I will see you (song)
"
I'll Be Seeing You
" is a
popular
song
, with music by
Sammy Fain
and lyrics by
Irving Kahal
. Published in
1938
, the song was inserted into the
Broadway
musical
Right This Way
, which closed after fifteen performances. In the musical, it was performed by the singer
Tamara Drasin
, who had a few years earlier introduced "
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
". The song is a
jazz standard
, and has been covered by many musicians.
The musical theme has emotional power, and was much loved during
World War II
, when it became an anthem for those serving overseas (both British and American soldiers). The lyrics begin, in
Ambrose
's recorded version, with a preamble:
Cathedral bells were tolling and our hearts sang on;
Was it the spell of Paris or the April dawn? Who knows if we shall meet again? But when the morning chimes ring sweet again...
I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places [etc.]
As the song develops, the words take a jaunty commonplace of casual farewell and transform it by degrees, to climax with
...and when the night is new,
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.
The resemblance between the main tune's first four lines and a passage within the theme of the last movement of
Gustav Mahler
's
Third Symphony
(1896) was pointed out by
Deryck Cooke
in 1970.
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Contents
1
Contents
2
Movie and television performances
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3
Covers
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4
Notes
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5
External links
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Contents
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1 Movie and television performances
2 Covers
3 Notes
4 External links
Movie and television performances
[
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[
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Featured throughout the 1944 movie also titled
I'll Be Seeing You
, starring
Ginger Rogers
and
Joseph Cotten
, the recording by
Bing Crosby
became a hit that year, reaching number one for the week of July 1. Later, the song became notably associated with
Liberace
, as the
theme music
to his television show of the 1950s. In 1956,
[2
]
Jackie Gleason
's character,
Ralph Kramden
, referenced the song on an episode of
The Honeymooners
in which Kramden experienced an early exit on the game show,
The $99,000 Answer
, and refused to leave the stage. The song was heard on an episode of the 1960s spy spoof
Get Smart
, when the main character had a high-tech trumpet that could play any tune, just by speaking the title into the mouthpiece. It has also been played in the 1989
Woody Allen
film
Crimes and Misdemeanors
; in the end credits of the 1990 film
Misery
(Liberace's rendition); in the 1992 movie
Shining Through
; in the closing episode of
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
; in the 1999 documentary
Beyond the Mat
, in the 2004 film
The Aviator
, and in the 2004 film
The Notebook
as the song for Noah and Allie. It was featured in the 2006 "Dance with the Dead" episode of
Midsomer Murders
, which was set near an old WWII airfield. It was also played in the closing credits for the 7th season finale of
Beavis and Butt-head
; in the 2010 season 4 episodes of
Eureka
("Founder's Day" "A New World" and "I'll Be Seeing You"). On the final episode of
The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
which was aired on May 22 1992, Doc Severinsen and the NBC Orchestra closed the show with it, as it was one of Carson's favorite songs.
During the 2009 Academy Awards presentation,
Queen Latifah
sang the song during the
"In Memoriam" tribute
to members of the motion picture industry who had died during the previous year, which was controversial because the In Memoriam tribute was previously traditionally unaccompanied.
[3
]
[4
]
On October 26, 2014, the song was played as part of a video tribute to
Robin Williams
at
AT&T Park
before Game 5 of the
World Series
between the
San Francisco Giants
and the
Kansas City Royals
.
[5
]
Covers
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]
[
]
The song has been
covered
by well known artists.
Al Hirt
released a version on his 1965 album,
They're Playing Our Song
[6
]
Andrea Corr
performed "I'll Be Seeing You" on her 2011 album
Lifelines
Anne Murray
recorded a version for her Greatest Hits compilation,
All of Me
Barry Manilow
, on his
1991
studio album
Showstoppers
Billie Holiday
sang a rendition of the song (1944)
Bill Kenny
on his 1966 album
Remember Me
Bing Crosby
recorded it in 1944
Brad Mehldau
on his live album,
The Art of the Trio, Vol. 4 (Back at the Vanguard)
Brenda Lee
on her 1962 album
Sincerely, Brenda Lee
Carmen McRae
from her album "When You're Away" 1958
Cass Elliot
released the song on her
live album
Don't Call Me Mama Anymore
Connee Boswell
, Studio & Radio Broadcast Recordings, 1931 - 1946
Engelbert Humperdinck
recorded it on his 1985 album
A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening
Etta James
for her 1994 cover album
Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday
Françoise Hardy
and
Iggy Pop
for the 1998 album
Jazz a Saint-Germain
Frank Sinatra
recorded multiple versions of the song,
[7
]
initially with
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
(1940), including one version that was more upbeat and "swinging" than later slower versions of the song
Holly Cole
on her album
Blame It on My Youth
James Darren
twice on
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
as the character
Vic Fontaine
, later on also on his album
This One's from the Heart
Jimmy Durante
, a song from his 60's TV show was used in the motion picture
The Notebook
Jo Stafford
recorded the song on her 1958 album
G.I. Jo – Songs of World War II
with arrangements by
Paul Weston
(her husband) as the band leader
Judy Collins
, on her 1975 album
Judith
June Tabor
on her
A Quiet Eye
CD 2000
Linda Ronstadt
on her
Hummin' To Myself
CD 2004
Liza Minnelli
, on her
2002
live album
Liza's Back
Mel Tormé
recorded several studio versions of the song as well as a live performance with pianist
George Shearing
on the
Concord Records
album
An Elegant Evening
Michael Bublé
recorded it on his EP
First Dance
Mina
recorded and released the song on her 2012 album
12 (American Song Book)
Neil Sedaka
recorded it in 1964, but it was not released until 2005, when it was issued on his
Love Songs
album
Peggy Lee
recorded it on her 1972 album
Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota
Queen Latifah
sang the song during the "In Memoriam" tribute during the
81st Academy Awards
Ray Charles
recorded it in 1967 on his album
Invites You to Listen
Ray Conniff
recorded it in 1959 with his orchestra and singers in a very upbeat and swinging version on his album
Young At Heart
Regina Carter
recorded it in 2006 on her album
I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey
Rickie Lee Jones
on her 1991 album
Pop Pop
Rod Stewart
, on his 2002 album
It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook
Rosemary Clooney
recorded it in the early 1990s in her homage to the "War Years" on an album entitled
For the Duration
Sarah Vaughan
, on her 1960 album
Dreamy
and her 1963
live album
Sassy Swings the Tivoli
Sonny Rollins
, on his 1982 concert in Montreal
Steve Tyrell
recorded the song on his 1999 album
A New Standard
*
The Blanks
recorded an a cappella version on their 2004 album
Riding the Wave
The Five Satins
recorded the song in 1959
The Poni-Tails
sang the song in 1959 when it reached as high as #87 in the U.S.
The Skyliners
and
The Belmonts
recorded the song
The Vocal Majority
recorded the song on "I'll Be Seeing You" in 1990
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]
Tony Bennett
included the song as the final track on his 1992 album
Perfectly Frank
Vera Lynn
recorded the song
Willie Nelson
recorded the song on
Healing Hands of Time
Notes
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]
[
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Jump up
^
Cooke's radio broadcast is described in
Hans Keller
, 'Truth & Music',
Music and Musicians Magazine
, November 1970
Jump up
^
"List of number-one singles of 1944"
.
Wikipedia
.
Jump up
^
Carr, David (2009-02-19).
"Oscars on TV: The Subtext"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
Jump up
^
Cieply, Michael and David Carr (2009-02-23).
"A ‘Slumdog’ Kind of Night at the Oscar Ceremony"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
Jump up
^
http://m.mlb.com/video/v36864907/ws2014-gm5-robin-williams-kids-throw-to-crystal
Jump up
^
Al Hirt,
They're Playing Our Song
Retrieved April 13, 2013.
Jump up
^
Gilliland, John
(1994).
Pop Chronicles the 40s
: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s
(audiobook).
ISBN
978-1-55935-147-8
.
OCLC
31611854
.
Tape 1, side B.
Jump up
^
http://vocalmajority.com/physical-recordings/ill-be-seeing-you
External links
[
edit
]
[
]
Full lyrics of this song
at
MetroLyrics
Achievements
Preceded by
"
I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
" Author:
Harry James
and
Dick Haymes
U.S.
Billboard
Best Sellers in Stores
number-one single
July 1, 1944
Succeeded by
"
I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
" by
Harry James
and
Dick Haymes
Preceded by
"
I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
" by
Harry James
and
Dick Haymes
U.S.
Billboard
Best Sellers in Stores
number-one single
July 15, 1944–July 29, 1944
Succeeded by
"
Swinging on a Star
" by
Bing Crosby
