A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (song)
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- See also the 1979 film by Ralph Thomas, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.
"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is the title of a well-known romantic British popular song with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin. First published in 1940, when it was performed in the show New Faces, it was most famously performed by Vera Lynn in the same year. She was not the first interpreter, being preceded by Ray Noble, and subsequently it has become a standard, being performed in a noteworthy fashion by Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller, Bobby Darin, Harry Connick Jr. and Sonny Rollins. A famous version by The Manhattan Transfer won a Grammy in 1981 for its arranger, Gene Puerling. Veteran British musician Ian Hunter, former vocalist for Mott the Hoople, regularly performs it in his concerts; Hunter's rendition appears on at least two of his live recordings. A performance of the song by British actor Robert Lindsay was used as the theme to the British situation comedy series Nightingales. The recording by John Le Mesurier is widely regarded as the definitive version.
The Berkeley Square (pronounced "BARK-lee," in British form) referred to is a large leafy square in a quiet and expensive part of London, UK. Mayfair and The Ritz Hotel are also in London.
[edit] Lyrics
- When two lovers meet in Mayfair, so the legends tell,
- Songbirds sing; winter turns to spring.
- Every winding street in Mayfair falls beneath the spell.
- I know such enchantment can be, 'cos it happened one evening to me:
- That certain night, the night we met,
- There was magic abroad in the air,
- There were angels dining at the Ritz,
- And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.
- I may be right, I may be wrong,
- But I'm perfectly willing to swear
- That when you turned and smiled at me
- A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.
- The moon that lingered over London town,
- Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown.
- How could he know we two were so in love?
- The whole darn world seemed upside down
- The streets of town were paved with stars;
- It was such a romantic affair.
- And, as we kissed and said 'goodnight',
- A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
The first stanza above, and the additional lyrics below, were in the original song as written, but are rarely sung in recordings (Bobby Darin's recording being a notable exception):
- How strange it was, how sweet and strange;
- There was never a dream to compare
- With those hazy crazy nights we met
- When a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
- This heart of mine beat loud and fast,
- Like a merry go round in a fair.
- We were dancing cheek to cheek
- And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
- When dawn came stealing up all gold and blue
- To interrupt our rendezvous,
- I still remember how you smiled and said,
- "Was that a dream or was it true?"
- Our homeward step was just as light
- As the tap-dancing feet of Astaire
- And, like an echo far away,
- A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
- I know 'cos I was there,
- That night in Berkeley Square.
