It’s been a while since I’ve linked to a song of the week. A shame really, as I love the way that finding the songs on YouTube enables me to explore and appreciate the greats. So here we have Mark Steyn discussing “One for my baby (and one more for the road)” by Harold Arlen [...]

Songs of the week from Steyn are both sung by Dame Vera Lynn.

It’s not a creamy voice, like GI Jo Stafford’s. There’s something rawer in there, and in those early records a very real emotional clutch. The sound of Britain at war is Vera Lynn singing “We’ll Meet Again” – and, despite the notorious British [...]

Song of the week this week is ‘Morning Train’ by Florrie Palmer.
The topic is train songs, which go from Johnny Mercer’s “I thought about you”:

via Felix Leclerc’s “Train du nord”:

Apparently there’s a song by Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse called “The Enchanted Train” about the Long Island Rail Road. I cannae find [...]

Song of the week this week is “Vaya con Dios” by Larry Russell, Inez James and Buddy Pepper.
[as Chris, Vin and Chico are about to leave the village]
Old Man: You could a-stay, you know. They wouldn’t be sorry to have you a-stay.
Vin: They won’t be sorry to see us go, either.
Old Man: Yes. The fighting [...]

Song of the week this week is “As time goes by”, as made famous by Casablanca.
Max Steiner, one of the great glories of American movie music, came on board to compose the incidental score and decided “As Time Goes By” was too insipid to carry the dramatic burden placed upon it. So he persuaded the [...]

Steyn’s song of the week is an old favourite of mine this week – “Dream a little dream of me”. I remember once, at the age of 15 or so, I was with several friends walking back from a party. It had been a good party, it was about 6am, we hadn’t slept, [...]

Steyn’s song of the week this week focuses on songs with August in the lyrics.   There aren’t many of them apparently. 
There’s a Jerry Herman song about time failing to heal everything:
So make the moments fly
Autumn, Winter
I’ll forget you by
Next year, some year
Though it’s hell that I’m going through
Some Tuesday, Thursday
April, August
Autumn, Winter
Next year, some year
Time [...]

Steyn’s song of the week (which of course you should read) this week is “Don’t Explain” by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. Apparently the idea for the song came to her when her husband came home with lipstick on his collar.
Hush now, don’t explain
Just say you’ll remain
I’m glad you’re back,
Don’t explain
Quiet, don’t explain
What [...]

Due to my absence in the US at the Stony Brook game theory festival I failed to keep up with Steyn’s song of the week. Last week it was ‘Tenderly’.
Apparently Walter Gross didn’t like lyrics being put to his tune. I can understand that. Here is the lyricless version of Chet Baker’s….

….and here [...]

Steyn’s song of the week.
Without a vocal (Cab Calloway):

With a vocal (Doris Day sings):
It must have been Moonglow
Way up in the blue
It must have been Moonglow
That led me straight to you
I still hear you saying
‘Dear one, hold me fast’
And I start in praying
Oh, Lord, please let this last
We
Seemed to float right through the air
Heavenly songs
Seemed [...]