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Take Two A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
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When two lovers meet in Mayfair, so the legands tell
Songbirds sing and winter turns to spring
Every winding street in Mayfair falls beneath the spell
I know such enchantment can be
'Cause it happened one evening to me
In 1939, Manning Sherwin wrote A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz. Although the song has become a standard, not much is known generally about the composer or lyricist. Manning Sherwin was born in Philadelphia in 1902 and had a career in musical theatre and films. He came to live in the UK in 1938, just a year before the song was written for New Faces, a 1940 review at London's Comedy Theatre.. He went on to write for other less well-known musicals before finally returning to Los Angeles. Manning Sherwin died in 1974.
Eric Maschwitz OBE, lyricist, actor and broadcaster, was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham a year before Manning in 1901. Married to actress Hermione Gingold his other famous song is These Foolish Things, with music by Jack Strachey. His other work included writing an adaptation of Goodbye Mr Chips, editing the Radio Times, and becoming Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC. Eric Maschwitz died in 1969.
That certain night, the night we met,
There was magic abroad in the air,
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
Dame Vera Lynne was one of the first to record the song during the Second World War. Here is a re-mastered issue of her 1940 recording. Since then the song has gone on to be recorded by countless vocalists and musicians.
'Berkeley Square' appears with different spellings online, but the correct spelling has 3 'e's. Laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, the square is named after John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton, an English admiral of the fleet. The square's gardens have very large London Plane trees that are among the oldest in central London, planted in 1789, and 50 Berkeley Square is allegedly haunted - The legend about the house varies, but most versions state that the attic room of the house is haunted by the spirit of a young woman who committed suicide there. She purportedly threw herself from a top-floor window after being abused by her uncle and is said to be capable of frightening people to death. The spirit is said to take the form of a brown mist, though sometimes it is reported as a white figure. A rarer version of the tale is that a young man was locked in the attic room, fed only through a hole in the door, until he eventually went mad and died. Another story is that the attic room is haunted by the ghost of a little girl who was killed there by a sadistic servant.
I may be right, I may be wrong,
But I'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me
A nightingale sang In Berkeley Square
The tales of haunting are far from the romantic story of the song, which to me seems to echo the Gershwins' A Foggy Day (In London Town), both in its musical tone and storyline and published two years before A Nightingale Sang ..
The moon that lingered over London town;
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown
How could he know we two were so in love,
The whole darn world seemed upside down
Choosing two live videos for Take Two is difficult. There are hundreds of versions of the song on YouTube, many from recordings and others from live performance. The song is a ballad and mostly interpreted as such. So I have chosen two versions of the tune by tenor saxophone led quartets. Of the two, I have a definite preference - do you?
The first is a lovely, lyrical version fom 2019 by saxophonist Scott Hamilton with Joan Chamorro (bass), David Xirgu (drums) and Jan Domènech (piano). The tune is included in the album Joan Chamorro Presenta Jan Domènech where Joan Chamorro (Musical Director of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band) features the pianist Jan Domènech with various guest artists.
The streets of town were paved with stars,
It was such a romantic affair,
And as we kissed and said goodnight,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
Our second take is by a quartet led by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and for some reason carries the title Midnight In Berkeley Square. This was filmed ten years ago when Pharoah visited the UK and played a gig at the Jazz Café in London. Although the saxophonist leads the quartet there is an extended piano solo from William Henderson and another solo that I really like from bassist Miles Danso. Antoine Banville is at the drums here. One commentator on YouTube says: 'Pharaoh sounds a whole lot like Coltrane in this and I don't mind it one bit.'
When dawn came stealing up all gold and blue
To interrupt our rendezvous,
I still remember how you smiled and said,
"Was that a dream or was it true?"
I find it intriguing when a composer writes one song that becomes such a worldwide standard, recorded and played so many times. What is it about the music and / or the lyrics that captures the imagination when other one-off compositions fade away? When a song like this is recorded by people from Vera Lynne to Frank Sinatra to Bobby Darin, from Glenn Miller to Ellis Marsalis to Dexter Gordon, and then countless school big bands and vocal groups, it must have something special about it.
Our homeward step was just as light
As the tap dancing feet of Astaire
And like an echo far away,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
I know 'cause I was there, that night in Berkeley Square
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