Always (Irving Berlin song)

"Always"
"Always"
	Sheet music, 1925
Song
Written	1925
Genre	Pop
Songwriter(s)	Irving Berlin

"Always" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1925, as a wedding gift for his wife Ellin Mackay, whom he married in 1926, and to whom he presented the substantial royalties.

Background

Although legend (and Groucho Marx) claimed Berlin wrote the song "Always" for The Cocoanuts, he never meant the song to be included in that musical, and it was not.^[2] Thematically, it serves as a sequel to Berlin's earlier song "When I Lost You," which pertained to the death of his first wife Dorothy.

The song entered into the public domain on January 1, 2021.^[3]

Lyrics

The song featured at the end of Lonesome (1928)

Everything went wrong,
And the whole day long
I'd feel so blue.
For the longest while
I'd forget to smile,
Then I met you.
Now that my blue days have passed,
Now that I've found you at last -

I'll be loving you Always
With a love that's true Always.
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I will understand
Always.
Always.

Days may not be fair Always,
That's when I'll be there Always.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
But Always.

^[4]

Popular culture

The song is an important plot element in Noël Coward's play Blithe Spirit.^[5]
It also features in the 1944 film Christmas Holiday, in which it is sung by Deanna Durbin.
The song is featured in the 1942 Lou Gehrig biopic The Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright. During a nightclub scene, it's played by Ray Noble and His Orchestra and sung by Bettye Avery.^[4]
An instrumental version of the song is used as a frequent background theme for episodes of Jackie Gleason's TV series, The Honeymooners (1955-56).
In the 1980 "Father and Daughter Night" episode of Archie Bunker's Place, Stephanie, Archie, and Murray perform the song.^[6]

References

^ Stanley, Bob (2022). "Doing What Comes Naturally: Irving Berlin". Let's Do It - The Birth of Pop Music: A History. New York: Pegasus Books. p. 47.
^ Bader, Robert S. (2016). Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. p. 309. ISBN 9780810134164.
^ "Party Like It's 1925 On Public Domain Day (Gatsby And Dalloway Are In)". NPR. 1 January 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Always by Irving Berlin".
^ Wolf, Matt (28 March 2004). "Blithe Spirit". Variety. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^ Martin, Dick (1980-02-17), Father and Daughter Night, Archie Bunker's Place, Carroll O'Connor, Martin Balsam, Danielle Brisebois, retrieved 2023-12-14