It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow
"It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow" is a song written in 1938 by composer Irving Berlin.
Background
The song came out of a conversation with British / Hungarian film producer Alexander Korda in a New York taxi cab in 1938. The Munich agreement had just depressed both men. Korda asked Berlin if he had written a war song yet, and a few blocks later Berlin came up with the tune and lyrics.[1][2]
It was first performed in London at the start of the war in 1939 before its American release, which caused a sensation at the time. Berlin used it in his 1940 musical Louisiana Purchase, in which it describes feelings of despair and hope during the American Great Depression, of the 1930s.[3] Irene Bordoni performed the song on the opening night.[4] In the film version of Louisiana Purchase in 1941, the song was performed by a black chorus.[5]
Memorable chorus
The song contains the following chorus by which it is popularly known.
- It's a lovely day tomorrow
- Tomorrow is a lovely day
- Come and feast your tear dimmed eyes
- On tomorrow's clear blue skies.
- If today your heart is weary
- If ev'ry little thing looks grey
- Just forget your troubles and learn to say
- Tomorrow is a lovely day.
Recordings
- It was recorded by British artist Vera Lynn[6] and promoted to lift spirits of British people during the darkest days of World War II and the Blitz. Other UK versions in 1940 were by Al Bowlly (HMV BD-828)[7] and Denny Dennis (with Jay Wilbur And His Orchestra).
- In the USA, several artists put out recordings including Frank Sinatra who recorded it with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on April 23, 1940 (Victor 78: 26596).[8]
- Mary Martin included the song on her album Mary Martin Sings for You (1949).[9]
In culture
- The song's title was used as the title of a made-for-TV film of 1975 called It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow, which is a drama documentary examining the Bethnal Green Disaster of 1943 in which 173 people were killed in a panic rush at the entrance to a bomb shelter,[10] as well as being used as the title of an episode of the 1973 documentary series The World at War dealing with the Burma campaign.
- In the 1986 Australian film Death of a Soldier, serial killer Eddie Leonski (portrayed by American actor Reb Brown) sings a portion of the song while being questioned by military police.[11]
- "A Lovely Day Tomorrow" was an entirely different song released as a one-off single from band British Sea Power in 2004 to celebrate the entry of Czech Republic into the European Union. The song deals with the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by two Czechoslovak agents during World War II.
References
- ^ Lasser, Michael (2014-01-03). America's Songs II: Songs from the 1890s to the Post-War Years. Routledge. ISBN 9781135094515.
- ^ Jasen, David A. (2004-06-01). Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song. Routledge. ISBN 9781135949013.
- ^ Young, William H.; Young, Nancy K. (2005-01-01). Music of the Great Depression. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313332302.
- ^ "Internet Broadway Database". ibdb.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "45worlds.com". 45worlds.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Al Bowlly Discography". albowlly.club. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "jazzdiscography.com". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ Goldschmidt, John; Kennedy, Cheryl; Malcolm, Christopher; Mort, Ray (1975-10-08), It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow, retrieved 2016-12-15
- ^ The Spoony Experiment: Death of a Soldier, 2012-05-15
- v
- t
- e
Theatre |
|
---|---|
Film |
|
- "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
- "All Alone"
- "All by Myself"
- "All of My Life"
- "Always"
- "Any Bonds Today?"
- "Anything You Can Do"
- "At the Devil's Ball"
- "The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me)"
- "Blue Skies"
- "Change Partners"
- "Cheek to Cheek"
- "Count Your Blessings"
- "A Couple of Swells"
- "Daddy, Come Home"
- "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly"
- "Easter Parade"
- "Follow the Crowd"
- "For Your Country and My Country"
- "Get Thee Behind Me Satan"
- "The Girl That I Marry"
- "God Bless America"
- "Goodbye, France"
- "Happy Holiday"
- "Heat Wave"
- "Heaven Watch the Philippines"
- "How About Me?"
- "How Deep Is the Ocean?"
- "How's Chances?"
- "I Got Lost in His Arms"
- "I Got the Sun in the Mornin' (and the Moon at Night)"
- "I Love a Piano"
- "I Never Had a Chance"
- "I Used to Be Color Blind"
- "I Want To Go Back To Michigan"
- "I'm an Indian Too"
- "I'm Gonna Pin My Medal on the Girl I Left Behind"
- "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket"
- "I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now"
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"
- "Isn't This a Lovely Day?"
- "It's a Lovely Day Today"
- "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow"
- "Lazy"
- "Let Yourself Go"
- "Let's All Be Americans Now
- "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
- "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee"
- "Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk"
- "Mandy"
- "Moonshine Lullaby"
- "My Defenses Are Down"
- "The Near Future"
- "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)"
- "Now It Can Be Told"
- "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning"
- "Play a Simple Melody"
- "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody"
- "Puttin' On the Ritz"
- "Reaching for the Moon"
- "Remember"
- "San Francisco Bound"
- "Say It Isn't So"
- "Say It with Music"
- "Someone Else May Be There While I'm Gone"
- "Sisters"
- "Slumming on Park Avenue"
- "The Song Is Ended (but the Melody Lingers On)"
- "Stay Down Here Where You Belong"
- "Steppin' Out with My Baby"
- "Supper Time"
- "That International Rag"
- "That Mysterious Rag"
- "There's No Business Like Show Business"
- "They Say It's Wonderful"
- "They Were All Out of Step But Jim"
- "This Year's Kisses"
- "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"
- "What'll I Do"
- "When I Lost You"
- "White Christmas"
- "Who Do You Love, I Hope?"
- "With You"
- "You Can Have Him"
- "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun"
- "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song"
- "You'd Be Surprised"
- "You're Just in Love"
- "You're Laughing at Me"
- Ellin Berlin (wife)
- Mary Ellin Barrett (daughter)
This 1930s song article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e