I'm sure we've had similar threads and so I'm probably repeating myself (nothing new there ...)
An otherwise lovely melody and song is virtually ruined, for me, by its title, oft-repeated in the lyric
I Only Have Eyes for You (Harry Warren & Al Dubin from Dames (1934)). What? No heart, mind, hands, ...? I'm not a songwriter but surely it wouldn't have spoiled the song for Mr. Dubin to have written his lyric as I Have Eyes Only for You. Of course the title/lyric, perhaps, was meant to read I Only, Have Eyes for You suggesting that the objection of the vocalist's attention has no other follower ...
And then there's the crazily-titled Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (Sigmund Romberg & Oscar Hammerstein II from The New Moon (1928)). For someone renown for his precise lyrics, Mr. Hammerstein II should have known there are no other sunrises ...
Or, what about Mack David's lyric to Bronislau Kaper's main title theme for The Way West (1967): On the 16th April, 1843, the sun rose in the east and headed west .... That certainly was a unique day! At least Mr. David got the date the right-way round (rather than April 16th)
And, though several JB007 songs are mentioned above surely we have to include Live and Let (Paul & Linda McCartney,1973) ... in the world in which we live in .... I know there's a view that the phrase is actually ... in the world in which we're livin' ... but several cover versions demonstrate otherwise.
I Only Have Eyes for You (Harry Warren & Al Dubin from Dames (1934)). What? No heart, mind, hands, ...? I'm not a songwriter but surely it wouldn't have spoiled the song for Mr. Dubin to have written his lyric as I Have Eyes Only for You. Of course the title/lyric, perhaps, was meant to read I Only, Have Eyes for You suggesting that the objection of the vocalist's attention has no other follower ...
I shall quibble needlessly with you and point out that I think there it was a common phrase back then to say that if a woman (or man) is interested in you romantically, she/he "only has eyes for you."
And, though several JB007 songs are mentioned above surely we have to include Live and Let (Paul & Linda McCartney,1973) ... in the world in which we live in .... I know there's a view that the phrase is actually ... in the world in which we're livin' ... but several cover versions demonstrate otherwise.
I Only Have Eyes for You (Harry Warren & Al Dubin from Dames (1934)). What? No heart, mind, hands, ...? I'm not a songwriter but surely it wouldn't have spoiled the song for Mr. Dubin to have written his lyric as I Have Eyes Only for You. Of course the title/lyric, perhaps, was meant to read I Only, Have Eyes for You suggesting that the objection of the vocalist's attention has no other follower ...
I shall quibble needlessly with you and point out that I think there it was a common phrase back then to say that if a woman (or man) is interested in you romantically, she/he "only has eyes for you."
Good point ... language - and its use - changes over time. When I hear that line I associate the word Only only () with the word Eyes rather than, as I'm sure it's intended, the word You
And, though several JB007 songs are mentioned above surely we have to include Live and Let * (Paul & Linda McCartney,1973) ... in the world in which we live in .... I know there's a view that the phrase is actually ... in the world in which we're livin' ... but several cover versions demonstrate otherwise.
Mitch
Yeah, this one always made me roll my eyes.
Edit: * hopefully no-one has been confused by my silly omission of the word Die
Or, what about Mack David's lyric to Bronislau Kaper's main title theme for The Way West (1967): On the 16th April, 1843, the sun rose in the east and headed west .... That certainly was a unique day! At least Mr. David got the date the right-way round (rather than April 16th)
Mitch
This one confuses me, Mitch.
Are you concerned about the "sun rising" as opposed to the "earth rotating"? 'Cause out here in California, the sun rises over yonder where I'd expect to travel to get to NYC (east) and heads towards and lands on the side of the sky where it meets the ocean (west).
Or, what about Mack David's lyric to Bronislau Kaper's main title theme for The Way West (1967): On the 16th April, 1843, the sun rose in the east and headed west .... That certainly was a unique day! At least Mr. David got the date the right-way round (rather than April 16th)
Mitch
This one confuses me, Mitch.
Are you concerned about the "sun rising" as opposed to the "earth rotating"? 'Cause out here in California, the sun rises over yonder where I'd expect to travel to get to NYC (east) and heads towards and lands on the side of the sky where it meets the ocean (west).
No ... just my typical sarcasm: I was making the point that the sun does that every day ... what's so special about 16th April 1843? Sorry, David, I should have put after That certainly was a unique day!
Johnny Mathis sings the main title turkey for some forgotten film that one of the labels released a few years back, and the lyrics use the noun "hungriness."
Johnny Mathis sings the main title turkey for some forgotten film that one of the labels released a few years back, and the lyrics use the noun "hungriness."
Yes, but to be fair, Nina Simone & David Bowie sing it as written too.
)
and point out that I think there it was a common phrase back then to say that if a woman (or man) is interested in you romantically, she/he "only has eyes for you."
