The Melody Lingers On: The Man I Love
The story goes that four businessmen each bet $1,000 that George Gershwin couldn't write a song using the four discordant notes of "Good Evening Friends''. George won the bet in spectacular style with The Man I Love, as Tony Thornton reveals in his latest column for Open Writing, which, as usual, strikes exactly the right note.
In July 1917, rehearsals began for the Jerome Kern musical Miss 1917. The rehearsal pianist was 18-year-old George Gershwin who was thrilled to be working for his idol.
George Gershwin was not a modest man. In later years when he was invited to parties, he would sit at the piano all evening, playing his own songs over and over. He boasted that he could write a song about anything - and he probably could.
The story goes that in 1924, he was challenged to do this by four businessmen. They each bet him $1,000 that he couldn’t write a song using the four notes to ‘Good Evening Friends’. These notes are so discordant that they were confident he would fail. He won the bet in spectacular style with The Man I Love.
The song appeared in the show Lady Be Good. Although Adele Astaire sang it with charm and simplicity, audiences didn’t take to it and it was dropped. It was considered for Strike Up The Band in 1927 and Rosalie in 1928 but didn’t make it into either. Gershwin himself conceded that people had difficulty remembering the melody.
But Lady Mountbatten liked it. She got a copy from Gershwin and took it back to England for her favourite dance band - the Berkley Square Orchestra. Other London bands copied it along with Paris jazz bands. Americans on holiday heard it and, on their return home, asked US bands to play it. Eventually it caught on and is now a classic.
In the lyrics below, the musical fragment is in italics. Gershwin used it an amazing 12 times and not once does it come across as the original sung gag line.
The Man I Love
Someday he'll come along. The man I love
And he'll be big and strong. The man I love
And when he comes my way
I'll do my best to make him stay
He'll look at me and smile. I'll understand
Then in a little while. He'll take my hand
And though it seems absurd
I know we both won't say a word
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday
Maybe Monday, maybe not
Still I'm sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day
He'll build a little home. That's meant for two
From which I'll never roam. Who would, would you?
And so all else above
I'm dreaming of the man I love
