I'll Be Seeing You (song)
Encyclopedia
"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. The song is a jazz standard
, and has been covered by countless musicians.
The musical theme has emotional power, and was much loved during World War II. It became an anthem for those serving overseas (both British and American soldiers) . The lyrics begin, in Ambrose
's recorded version, with a preamble:
As the song develops, the words take a jaunty commonplace of casual farewell and transform it by degrees, to climax with
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.
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, being number one for the week of July 8. In 1956, Jackie Gleason
's character, Ralph Kramden, referenced the song on a 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. Later, the song became notably associated with Liberace
, as the theme music
to his television show of the 1950s. 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
; in the 1992 movie Shining Through
; in the closing episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
; in the 2004 film The Aviator, and in the 2004 film The Notebook
as the song for Noah and Allie. It was also played in the closing credits for the final episode of Beavis and Butthead. 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. In 2010, the song was performed on the show Eureka in both the first, second, and ninth episodes of the fourth season. Five members of the town were sent back in time to a military base in 1947 and the song was performed at a dance by a beautiful actress, with an amazing voice, named Marie West.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, with music by Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to...
and lyrics by Irving Kahal
Irving Kahal
Irving Kahal was a popular lyricist active in the 1920's and '30's. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville sketches written by Gus Edwards...
. Published in 1938
1938 in music
-Events:*January 16**Benny Goodman plays the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.**Béla Bartók's Sonata for two pianos and percussion is premiered in Basel....
, the song was inserted into the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Right This Way
Right This Way
Right This Way is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston....
, which closed after fifteen performances. The song is a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
, and has been covered by countless musicians.
The musical theme has emotional power, and was much loved during World War II. It became an anthem for those serving overseas (both British and American soldiers) . The lyrics begin, in Ambrose
Ambrose (bandleader)
Benjamin Baruch Ambrose , known professionally as Ambrose or Bert Ambrose, was an English bandleader and violinist. Ambrose become the leader of a highly acclaimed English dance band, the Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra, in the 1930s.-Early life:Ambrose was born in the East End of London; his father...
'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
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Third Symphony
Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 3 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece and is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, with a typical performance lasting around ninety to one hundred minutes.- Structure :...
(1896) was pointed out by Deryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke was a British musician, musicologist and broadcaster.-Life:Cooke was born in Leicester to a poor and working class family; his father died when he was a child, but his mother was able to afford piano lessons. Cooke acquired a brilliant technique and began to compose...
in 1970.
Featured throughout the 1944 movie also titled I'll be Seeing You, starring Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
and Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
, the recording by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
became a hit that year, being number one for the week of July 8. In 1956, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
's character, Ralph Kramden, referenced the song on a episode of The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
in which Kramden experienced an early exit on the game show, The $99,000 Answer, and refused to leave the stage. Later, the song became notably associated with Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
, as the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
to his television show of the 1950s. The song was heard on an episode of the 1960s spy spoof Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, 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
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
film Crimes and Misdemeanors
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Crimes and Misdemeanors is a 1989 black comedy written, directed by and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston and Joanna Gleason....
; in the end credits of the 1990 film Misery
Misery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
; in the 1992 movie Shining Through
Shining Through
Shining Through is a 1992 British-American World War II film drama, directed and written by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson and John Gielgud in supporting roles. Although based on the novel of the same name by Susan Isaacs, the...
; in the closing episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
; in the 2004 film The Aviator, and in the 2004 film The Notebook
The Notebook
The Notebook is a 1996 romantic novel by American novelist Nicholas Sparks, based on a true story. The novel was later adapted into a popular romance film by the same name in 2004.-Background:...
as the song for Noah and Allie. It was also played in the closing credits for the final episode of Beavis and Butthead. During the 2009 Academy Awards presentation, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
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. In 2010, the song was performed on the show Eureka in both the first, second, and ninth episodes of the fourth season. Five members of the town were sent back in time to a military base in 1947 and the song was performed at a dance by a beautiful actress, with an amazing voice, named Marie West.
Covers
The song has been covered by well known artists.- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
recorded multiple versions of the song, including one version that was more upbeat and "swinging" than later slower versions of the song. - Rosemary ClooneyRosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
recorded it in the early 90's in her homage to the "War Years" on an album entitled For the Duration. - Ray ConniffRay ConniffJoseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
recorded it in 1959 with his orchestra and singers in a very upbeat and swinging version on his album Young At Heart. - Cass Elliott released the song on her live albumLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Don't Call Me Mama Anymore. - Fun Lovin' CriminalsFun Lovin' CriminalsThe Fun Lovin' Criminals is an American alternative hip hop / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is primarily eclectic, covering styles such as hip hop, rock, funk, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in New York City, as well as urban life in general...
covered the song on their album MimosaMimosa (album)Mimosa is a 1999 compilation album released by the Fun Lovin' Criminals. The album is a collection of rarities, b-sides, remixes, and covers. It features some notable lounge music versions of old FLC songs, with the exception of "Bombin the L" which, as the title suggest is performed in a fast...
. - Johnny TillotsonJohnny TillotsonJohnny Tillotson is an American singer and songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored 9 top-ten hits on the pop, country and adult contemporary billboard charts including "Poetry In Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'"...
recorded this song in the 1960s with a big band orchestra and re-released it in 2003 on his Johnny Tillotson Sings Love Songs and Standards CD. - David SlaterDavid SlaterDavid Slater is an American singer.-Career:He was the Male Vocalist champion on TV's Star Search in 1987. Slater then signed a recording contract with Capitol Records and launched a country music career. He released two critically acclaimed albums on Capitol in the late 1980s entitled and . Both...
recorded it on his album Nice And Easy. - Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, on her 1960 album DreamyDreamy (Sarah Vaughan album)Dreamy is a 1960 studio album by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.This was Vaughan's first album for Roulette Records.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded Dreamy three stars and said that "The emphasis is on ballads on this Roulette LP...Harry "Sweets" Edison contributes some...
and her 1963 live albumLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Sassy Swings the TivoliSassy Swings the TivoliSassy Swings the Tivoli is a 1963 live album by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.-Track listing:Disc one# "I Feel Pretty" - 2:34# "Misty" - 5:56...
. - Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
sang a rendition of the song. - Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
on her Hummin' To Myself CD 2004 - James BookerJames BookerJames Carroll Booker III was a jazz, New Orleans rhythm and blues and soul musician born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.-Biography:...
played a piano version of the song on his album Junco Partner. - Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, on her 20022002 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
live album Liza's BackLiza's BackLiza's Back is a live album by Liza Minnelli recorded on June 2, 2002.It was produced by her then husband, David Gest, and released on CD in the same year by J Records.... - Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, on his 2002 album It Had to Be You: The Great American SongbookIt Had to Be You: the Great American SongbookIt Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook is Rod Stewart's first album of pop standards, released in 2002.-Chart Performance:It Had To Be You: The Great American Songbook reached a peak position of #4 in the USA, and was certified 2x Platinum. It also went Platinum in the United Kingdom,... - Jimmy DuranteJimmy DuranteJames Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, a trademark song from his 60's TV show was used in the motion picture The NotebookThe Notebook (film)The Notebook is a 2004 romance film directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love during the early 1940s...
. - Queen LatifahQueen LatifahDana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
sang the song during the 'In Memoriam' tribute during the 81st Academy Awards81st Academy AwardsThe 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...
. - Brenda LeeBrenda LeeBrenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
on her 1962 album Sincerely, Brenda LeeSincerely, Brenda LeeSincerely, Brenda Lee is the sixth studio album by American pop and country artist Brenda Lee. The album was released February 12, 1962 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley...
. - Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
recorded this song on her 1958 album G.I. Jo - Songs of World War II with arrangements by Paul WestonPaul WestonPaul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield, Massachusetts...
(her husband) as the band leader. - Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
and Francoise HardyFrançoise HardyFrançoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style. She is married to the singer and movie actor Jacques Dutronc.-Biography:...
recorded this song for Jazz a Saint-Germain. - The Ink SpotsThe Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
recorded a fairly unknown version at some point in their line up. - Michael BubléMichael BubléMichael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
recorded it on his EP First Dance. - Anne MurrayAnne MurrayMorna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
recorded a version for her Greatest Hits compilation, All of MeAll of Me (Anne Murray album)-Chart performance:...
. - The BlanksThe BlanksThe Blanks are an a cappella group. Most notably, they appeared in the TV series Scrubs in a recurring guest role, under various names such as Ted's Band and The Worthless Peons...
recorded an a cappella version on their debut album Riding the WaveRiding the WaveRiding the Wave is a 2004 album by The Blanks. It features both original songs by the band and cover versions of other songs, most of which were performed on the TV series Scrubs. It also features candid recordings of the cast and production team of Scrubs . Sam Lloyd was written into the script...
. - Andrea CorrAndrea CorrAndrea Jane Corr is an Irish musician, songwriter and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon, and Jim...
recorded it as the opening track of her 2011 album LifelinesLifelines (Andrea Corr album)Lifelines is the second studio album by Andrea Corr and consists of covers. It was released on 29 May 2011 as a digital download and 30 May 2011 on CD...
. - Neil SedakaNeil SedakaNeil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
recorded it in 1964, but it was not released until 2005, when it was issued on his Love Songs album. - Mel TormeMel TorméMelvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
recorded several studio versions of the song as well as a live performance with pianist George ShearingGeorge ShearingSir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
on the Concord RecordsConcord RecordsConcord Records is a U.S. record label now based in Beverly Hills, California. Originally known as Concord Jazz, it was established in 1972 as an off-shoot of the Concord Jazz Festival in Concord, California by festival founder Carl Jefferson, a local automobile dealer and jazz fan who sold his...
album An Elegant EveningAn Elegant EveningAn Elegant Evening is a 1985 album by the American jazz singer Mel Tormé, accompanied by George Shearing.-Track listing:#"I'll Be Seeing You" - 3:29...
.