"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"

"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"
Name	You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
Artist	original: Dorothy Lamour / first published: Cole Porter
Published	1943
Composer	Cole Porter
Lyricist	Cole Porter
Genre	Traditional pop music
Label	Decca Records

"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" is a popular song written and published by Cole Porter in 1943 that quickly entered the Great American Songbook and became a standard recorded by numerous artists across jazz and popular music circles. The song's publication during World War II and association with the Hollywood film industry helped its dissemination through radio broadcasts on NBC and CBS as well as live performances in venues linked to United Service Organizations tours and Carnegie Hall concerts.

Background and Composition

Porter composed the song for the Paramount Pictures film Something to Shout About (1943), where it was introduced by Dorothy Lamour, while Porter was contemporaneous with figures such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, and Larry Hart. The song's creation occurred amid wartime cultural production dominated by studios like Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Warner Bros. Pictures, and in a milieu shared with performers including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Ethel Merman. Influences on Porter included his earlier works performed at venues such as The Lambs Club and in revues produced by Broadway impresarios like Florenz Ziegfeld.

Lyrics and Themes

The lyrics express intimate longing and domestic yearning through Porter's characteristic wit and urbane diction, qualities also evident in songs by Cole Porter contemporaries Noël Coward, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Hoagy Carmichael. Thematically, the song resonated with audiences during World War II, paralleling sentiments in works connected to V-E Day and V-J Day celebrations, and echoed in performances by entertainers who supported the United Service Organizations and toured with Bob Hope and Jack Benny. Literary and theatrical parallels can be drawn to dialogues from plays staged at Theatre Guild and poems published in outlets like The New Yorker that addressed wartime separation.

Original Recording and Release

The original film performance by Dorothy Lamour was paralleled by commercial recordings issued on labels such as Decca Records and Columbia Records by artists including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, and Dinah Shore. Early radio dissemination occurred via broadcasts on NBC Radio and Mutual Broadcasting System shows featuring guest stars like Ed Sullivan and Fred Allen. The song's sheet music was distributed by publishers who worked with Broadway composers represented by ASCAP and BMI, and recordings were pressed by manufacturers including RCA Victor.

Notable Cover Versions and Performances

Notable jazz and pop interpretations include renditions by Ella Fitzgerald on her Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook project, instrumental treatments by Charlie Parker, arrangements by Glen Miller-era arrangers, and recordings by Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, and Count Basie. The song has also been performed in live settings by Duke Ellington orchestras, Benny Goodman ensembles, and cabaret revues featuring artists such as Lena Horne and Peggy Lee. Contemporary covers have appeared in albums by Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Michael Bublé, and k.d. lang, and have been arranged for ensembles associated with institutions like The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music.

Cultural Impact and Uses in Media

The song has been used in films, television, and theater productions, appearing in soundtracks linked to studios like Paramount Pictures and in television series broadcast on networks such as CBS, NBC, and PBS. It has accompanied scenes in war-themed films referencing World War II and has been licensed for documentaries about entertainers associated with the USO and tours led by Bob Hope and George Burns. The tune has been sampled and referenced in contemporary media connected to Broadway revivals, cabaret productions at venues like The Metropolitan Opera (in crossover programming), and retrospective compilations issued by labels such as Verve Records and Blue Note Records.

Musical Structure and Analysis

Musically, the song exemplifies Porter's sophisticated harmonic language with modulations and chromaticism akin to techniques used by George Gershwin and Jerome Kern; it often employs II–V–I progressions familiar to practitioners trained at conservatories such as The Juilliard School and Berklee College of Music. Typical arrangements feature a standard AABA form used by composers represented by ASCAP and analyzed in texts alongside works by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. Jazz interpretations frequently reharmonize the bridge and introduce improvisations in the style of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Bill Evans, while big band treatments highlight orchestration techniques associated with Stan Kenton, Glen Miller, and Count Basie.

Category:Songs written by Cole Porter