"The Song Is You" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song and

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that 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 lis ...

composed by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

with lyrics by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

. It was written for their

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

Music in the Air ''Music in the Air'' is a musical written by Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and book) and Jerome Kern (music). It introduced songs such as "The Song Is You", "In Egern on the Tegern See" and " I've Told Ev'ry Little Star". The musical premiered on ...

'' (1932) and sung in that show by

Tullio Carminati Tullio Carminati (September 21, 1894 – February 26, 1971) was an Italian actor. He rose to fame in Italy and the United States initially as a silent film actor, starring in such films as '' The Duchess of Buffalo'' (1926), '' The Bat'' (1 ...

. In the subsequent 1934

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, the song was recorded and filmed but cut from the final release. An instrumental of the song can still be heard under the opening credits. An early hit in 1932 was by Jack Denny and his

Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra The Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra was an orchestra that played primarily at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, both the old and new locations. In addition to providing dinner music at the famous hotel, the orchestra made over 300 recordingsRust, Brian, ...

(vocal by Paul Small). In later years the song became often associated with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, becoming the last song he performed with

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

. Many other artists have recorded the song over the years. "The Song Is You" is the recurring musical theme of the 2003

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...

film '' The Saddest Music in the World''. Nine different versions of the song were arranged for the film by composer Christopher Dedrick, whose work received a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

. Composer

Alec Wilder Alexander Lafayette Chew Wilder (February 16, 1907 – December 24, 1980) was an American composer. Biography Wilder was born in Rochester, New York, United States, to a prominent family; the Wilder Building downtown (at the "Four Corners") ...

writes that the song "attempts too dramatic a statement on too small a stage ..it suggests a grander voice than that usually associated with popular theater music", but that it nonetheless possesses a "superior quality" as a composition, with a "masterful" release containing "brilliant" harmony and melody. It is written in

AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

References

1932 songs Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Songs with music by Jerome Kern Frank Sinatra songs Bing Crosby songs Doris Day songs Shirley Bassey songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Jay and the Americans songs Pop standards Scott Walker (singer) songs {{Show-tune-stub