The Nearness Of You
Ned Alexander (w), Hoagy Carmichael (m)
1940
VERSE 1
It's not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me
Oh no, it's just the nearness of you.
It’s not your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation
Oh no, it's just the nearness of you
VERSE 2
When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams came true.
I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you would only grant me
The right to hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night
The nearness of you.
Carmichael wrote the melody for an MGM screen adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1935 while he was still in New York. After making the move to Hollywood, in 1937 Paramount assigned him and Washington to write a song for a movie to be called Romance in the Rough. Washington put words to the previously written melody and it became "The Nearness of You." Although Paramount never produced Romance in the Rough, they did make a movie titled Romance in the Dark in 1938 and in it Gladys Swarthout introduced "The Nearness of You." It did not become a hit, however, until 1940 when Glenn Miller recorded it with a Ray Eberle vocal.
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| Recorded | Performers | Label | Cat.# | Matrix |
|
|
| | Al Romero | RCA Victor | 20-5482 | |
| 04/26/1940 | Chick Bullock & His Orchestra | Vocalion | 5558 | 27222 |
| 04/28/1940 | Glenn Miller & His Orchestra | Bluebird | B10745-A | 48965 |
| 04/30/1940 | Kay Kyser & His Orchestra | Columbia | 35488 | CO27239 |
| 05/02/1940 | Eddy Howard | Columbia | 35511 | WC3054 |
| 05/16/1940 | Ray Herbeck & His Music | Vocalion | 5568 | 27307 |
| 05/20/1940 | Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians | Decca | 3214-B | 67776 |
| 05/22/1940 | Larry Clinton & His Orchestra | Victor | 26634 | 50842 |
| 06/25/1940 | Dinah Shore | Bluebird | B10793 | 51563 |
| 08/22/1940 | Connee Boswell | Decca | 3366-B | 68001 |
| 06/25/1950 | Woody Herman & His Orchestra | Capitol | 1272 | 5985 |
| 01/02/1953 | Bob Manning (Monty Kelly Orchestra) | Capitol | 2383 | 10958 |
|
Year | Title | Medium | Type | Usage |
|
|
1949 | The Set-Up | film | film original | interpolated |
1960 | The Rat Race | film | film original | interpolated |
1962 | Girls! Girls! Girls! | film | film original | interpolated |
1983 | Terms Of Endearment | film | film original | interpolated |
1986 | Heartburn | film | film original | interpolated |
1993 | Indecent Proposal | film | film original | interpolated |
1996 | Basquiat | film | film original | interpolated |
1997 | Out To Sea | film | film original | interpolated |
2002 | Two Weeks Notice | film | film original | interpolated |