The Melody Lingers On: I've Told Every Little Star
Jerome Kern got the idea for the melody of "I've Told Every Little Star'' when he awoke to hear a bird singing outside his window, Tony Thornton reveals in the latest of his splendid series about popular songs. When Oscar Hammerstein came to write the lyrics to the tune he said there were times when he wished the bird had kept its big mouth shut!
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In 1931, Jerome Kern was awakened one morning by a bird singing outside his window. The warbling so enchanted him that he woke his wife Eva and they listened together. When the bird flew away Jerry sang the melody over and over to himself then fell asleep.
When he awoke, he set about writing down the theme. To his dismay, he could not recall it correctly. He went to his piano but soon gave up in frustration. The song that had seemed so memorable and simple just a few hours before eluded him completely.
By a stroke of luck the bird reappeared the following morning. Kern grabbed a pencil and paper and, stealing quietly downstairs to his piano so as not to wake the sleeping household, he wrote down the tune.
As Kern noted: “It was a complete phrase and a perfectly rounded melodic treatment.”
The bird was identified as a Cape Cod Sparrow Melospiza Melodia and its warbling was the inspiration for the song I’ve Told Every Little Star.
His collaborator, Oscar Hammerstein, later wrote, ''Jerry got the melodic theme from a bird. He swears it! He heard a finch outside the window singing the first line and he built a refrain on it.'' The song proved difficult to fashion lyrics, according to Mr Hammerstein, who added, ''There were times when I wished the finch had kept his big mouth shut!''
On 5 November 1945, Jerome Kern went for a walk in New York City. When he reached the south west corner of Park Avenue and 57th street he collapsed suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was eventually taken to the Doctors Hospital in Manhattan where he lapsed into a coma.
His family arrived along with Oscar Hammerstein. On Sunday 11 November, Oscar was at his bedside. Lifting the oxygen tent he softly sang I’ve Told Every Little Star to Jerry who had a special affection for the song. When he’d finished, Oscar glanced at his beloved associate. There was no movement. The clock on the wall read 1.10 pm. For a moment, Oscar alone knew what a saddened world would shortly learn.
At the funeral, at Ferncliffe crematory at Hartsdale, every major figure from the musical stage was present. Oscar Hammerstein stepped forward to deliver a prepared eulogy. He never finished it. He gave way to emotions that overwhelmed him.
If I should ever visit New York, I will make the pilgrimage to the memorial to Jerome Kern. Standing there I’m not sure which of his melodies will float to the top of my mind - The Song Is You, The Way You Look Tonight, Look For The Silver Lining, Ol’ Man River, the list seems endless. But it’s time to move on… to George Gershwin.
My acknowledgements to Gerald Boardman’s biography of Jerome Kern.
I've told every little star
Just how sweet I think you are
Why haven't I told you?
I've told ripples in a brook
Made my heart an open book
Why haven't I told you?
Friends ask me, ‘am I in love?’
I always answer, ‘yes’
Might as well confess
If the answer’s yes
May-be, you may love me too
Oh, my darling, if you do
Why haven't you told me?
* NOW READ ON. Read the other articles in Tony’s series about some of the greatest songs ever written. Click on The Melody Lingers On in our list of columns and enjoy his archived material in date order, beginning with the story of Hoagy Carmichael’s great hit, Stardust.
