"Always True to You in My Fashion" is a 1948

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

by Cole Porter, written for the musical ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...

''. It is based on ''Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae sub Regno Cynarae,'' a similarly

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

poem by the English

Decadent The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...

poet

Ernest Dowson Ernest Christopher Dowson (2 August 186723 February 1900) was an English poet, novelist, and short-story writer who is often associated with the Decadent movement. Biography Ernest Dowson was born in Lee, then in Kent, in 1867. His great-uncle ...

(1867–1900), which has the refrain 'I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion,' and which was probably inspired by Dowson's lifelong friend Adelaide Foltinowicz, who never returned his devotion.Ernest Dowson , British poet , Britannica.com
/ref> The phrase "faithful in my fashion" entered the language before the song was written, and was the title of a 1946 Hollywood film. The singer protests that she is always faithful to her main love in her own way, despite seeing, and accepting gifts from, wealthy men. The strong ironic innuendo is that she trades sexual favours for gifts. The song is full of wordplay, such as the

spoonerism A spoonerism is an occurrence in speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words in a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and ordained minister William Archibald Spooner, w ...

"If the Harris pat means a Paris hat ..." The song is sung in the second half of the show by Lois (Bianca) to her

love interest ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

, Bill (Lucentio), who has become frustrated with Lois' penchant for older wealthy men.

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

actress and singer

Lisa Kirk Lisa Kirk (born Elsie Kirk, February 25, 1925 – November 11, 1990) was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto (her voice was called a husky alto). Career Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, she was raise ...

, who originated the role of Lois/Bianca, introduced the song in the second act of the original (1948) production. It was performed in the 1953

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

by Ann Miller and

Tommy Rall Thomas Edward Rall (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American actor, ballet dancer, tap dancer, and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies. He later became a successful operatic tenor in the 1 ...

Other versions

The song has been notably sung by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, Eartha Kitt,

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City o ...

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

, Peggy Lee (with

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

on her ''

Della Della Cha-Cha-Cha ''Della, Della, Cha-Cha-Cha'' is an album by singer and actress Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordaine ...

'' album (1961), and by Julie London in 1961 (on the LP album (Liberty Records LST-7192) ''

Whatever Julie Wants ''Whatever Julie Wants'' is an LP album by Julie London, released by Liberty Records under catalog number LRP-3192 as a monophonic recording and catalog number LST-7192 in stereo in 1961. For the cover photograph of this release Julie London had ...

'')

Cultural references

Porter wondered whether

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

would object to his name being used in the song, in which it is implied that Gable is one of Lois's lovers ("Mister Gable, I mean Clark / Wants me on his boat to park"). Gable was delighted upon hearing the song, along with his name's being mentioned in the lyric. In some versions of the lyrics, there are references to the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

neighborhood of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

from the '' Threepenny Opera''. In the Beatles' "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You," the melody of the line "'cause there's really nothing else I'd rather do" closely matches that of the eponymous line "always true to you, darling, in my fashion." In an apparent allusion to Porter's song, Morrissey's "Speedway", from the 1994 album '' Vauxhall & I'', includes the lines "In my own strange way, I've always been true to you / In my own sick way, I'll always stay true to you". The song is also the basis for the number "I Always, Always, Never Get My Man", performed by actress Jane Krakowski, in episode 5 of the television show

Schmigadoon! ''Schmigadoon!'' is an American musical comedy television series created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with all songs written by Paul, who also serves as showrunner. The series airs on Apple TV+ and premiered on July 16, 2021. The series has b ...

. Both songs feature a similar structure and use of wordplay.

References

Bibliography

* Green, Stanley. ''Broadway Musicals, Show by Show''. Milwaukee, WI: H. Leonard Books, 1985. *Willis, John; Ben Hodges, and Tom Lynch. ''Theatre World 1999-2000 Season. Volume 56''. New York: Applause, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Always True To You In My Fashion 1948 songs Songs written by Cole Porter Songs from Kiss Me, Kate Comedy songs Eartha Kitt songs