The history of the song “The Man I Love” (“My Beloved”), which was destined to become one of the most famous ballads of the first half of the twentieth century, was at first very unsuccessful. This composition thundered all over the world after it was excluded from Broadway productions several times, and even the authors seemed to give up on it.
“The Man I Love” is the work of the brilliant American composer George Gershwin and his brother, songwriter Ira. Accordingly, the music was written by the first, and the words were composed by the second. The original version of the song was called “The Girl I Love” (“My Beloved”), and it was intended for the musical “Lady, Be Good”.
The audience first heard it in the fall of 1924, but soon the song was removed from the performance. According to one version, this was done to shorten the duration of the production and speed up its pace. According to another, “The Girl I Love” was suggested to be cut by Ira Gershwin, who felt that it was still worth a lot of work on it.
In 1927, George was going to use the composition in the satirical anti-war musical “Strike up the Band”, where it was supposed to appear already under the name “The Man I Love”. But the launch of the show was delayed for three years, and when it came out, there was no song in it. Perhaps the point was that even before that Gershwin tried to include “The Man I Love” in the play “Rosalie”, but abandoned this idea during rehearsals.
So, the song, which would later become a musical standard, was tried in three productions, and in none of them did it sound properly. But then fortune nevertheless turned to face her.
“The Man I Love” appealed to Lady Edwina Mountbatten, granddaughter of a British royalty and socialite. Edwina took the sheet music with her to England and asked several variety orchestras to learn the composition. And then came the moment of glory. The song made a splash first in London, then in Paris, and later “returned” to their homeland with triumph.
Next up was Max Dreyfus, George Gershwin’s publisher. He began a powerful advertising campaign to promote the song, and soon it sold a hundred thousand copies. Since then, it has been known and loved by music lovers in all civilized countries of the world.
“The Man I Love” has been sung by dozens of famous artists including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Kate Bush and many more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySszeu4H4QI
Interesting Facts
- Many performers sing a shortened version of the song.
Lyrics of The Man I LoveThe Man I Love lyricsWhen the mellow moon begins to beam,
Ev’ry night I dream a little dream
And of course Prince Charming is the theme,
The he for me
Although I realize as well as you
It is seldom that a dream comes true
For/To me it’s clear
That he’ll appear
I have a short dream every night
And, of course, it’s about Prince Charming,
Volume the only one for me
Although I understand, like you,
That dreams rarely come true
But I’m clear to me
That he’ll appear Some day he’ll come along
The man I love
And he’ll be big and strong
The man I love
And when he comes my way
I’ll do my best to make him stay
My favorite
He will be tall and strong
My favorite
And when fate brings us together
I’ll do anything to keep him with me He’ll look at me and smile
I’ll understand
And in a little while
He’ll take my hand
And though it seems absurd
I know we both won’t say a word
And I will understand everything
And then
He will take my hand
And although it seems ridiculous,
We both won’t say a word Maybe I shall meet him Sunday
Maybe Monday, maybe not
Still I’m sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day
Maybe Monday, maybe not.
But I’m sure one day I’ll meet him
Maybe Tuesday will bring me good news He’ll build a little home
Just meant for two
From which I’ll never roam,
Who would – would you?
And so everything else above
I’m waiting for the man I love
Just right for two
From which I will never leave
And who would leave – would you like to?
So more than anything
I’m waiting for my lover
Song quote
This is a masterpiece… This is the music of America.
John Ireland
