"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song about missing a loved one, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, it was inserted into the Broadway musical '' Right This Way'', which closed after fifteen performances. The title of the 1944 film '' I'll Be Seeing You'' was taken from this song at the suggestion of the film's producer, Dore Schary. The song is included in the film's soundtrack.

Background

A resemblance between the main tune's first four lines and a passage within the theme of the last movement of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

's Third Symphony (1896) was pointed out by Deryck Cooke in 1970.

Other versions

*The earliest recording of the song was by Dick Todd in 1940 on the Bluebird label. * The recording by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

became a nostalgic wartime hit in 1944, reaching number one for the week of July 1. *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

's version with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra from 1940 charted in 1944 and peaked at No. 4. A new recording of the song by Frank Sinatra was included in 1961's '' I Remember Tommy''. This new version went to No. 12 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart and No. 58 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. * A recording by the Poni-Tails reached number 87 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week ending November 16, 1959. * Dinah Shore and André Previn recorded the song in '' Dinah Sings, Previn Plays'', (

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, 1960). *

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

recorded the song as the final track of her 1962 album '' Sincerely, Brenda Lee'', with the second verse spoken rather than sung. This version features as a significant recurring theme in the 2018 film '' Out of Blue''.

Other appearances

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

's 1944 recording of the song was the final transmission sent by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

to the '' Opportunity'' rover on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

when its mission ended in February 2019. Holiday's version was also featured in both the 2004 film '' The Notebook'', the 2014 film '' Before I Disappear'', and most recently in '' Severance'' seasons 1 and 2. * Norah Jones recorded a version in 2020 in support of the New York Restoration Project during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and released a video of the performance. *

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

's 1965 version of the song appears in the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine, heard when the two title characters go through a sling ring that Cassandra Nova, the film's main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Songs about nostalgia 1938 songs 1940 singles 1944 singles 1959 singles Pop standards Torch songs Songs from musicals Songs with music by Sammy Fain Songs with lyrics by Irving Kahal