Our Love is Here to Stay -- Dinah Washington

Some folks prefer Ella Fitzgerald's rendition, but they are misguided.

It's very clear
Our love is here to stay ;
Not for a year
But ever and a day.

The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies,
And in time may go!

But, oh my dear,
Our love is here to stay.
Together we're
Going a long, long way

In time the Rockies may crumble,
Gibralter may tumble,
They're only made of clay,
But our love is here to stay.

A fascinating anecdote about the lyricist, George Gershwin:

"[I]n 1935, when he was 36 and at the peak of his career, Gershwin lost his usual verve and became severely depressed. He sought help from an esteemed psychoanalyst of the era, seeing him five times a week. During this period, he also set out to write the opera "Porgy and Bess."

 

The opera is the story of an impoverished African-American community, of hardship and betrayal. The opera’s song "Summertime" reflects a deep sadness. "But the opera’s ‘My Man’s Gone Now’ is unquestionably the most anguished song that Gershwin ever wrote," Kogan declared. "In fact, it is probably one of the most anguished songs of the 20th century."

 

In other words, the formerly egocentric, not particularly empathetic Gershwin had become much more sensitive to others because of his depression, Kogan explained. His depression gave "Porgy and Bess" a poignancy, a seriousness that his previous works had not possessed. ...

 

Although "Porgy and Bess" was undoubtedly Gershwin’s greatest work, his life spiraled downward after it was written. When the opera opened in 1935, it met with little success. Months of psychoanalysis also failed to relieve Gershwin’s depression. "No, it was not a psychiatric success story," Kogan lamented.

 

Further, Gershwin started showing signs of incoordination, smelled what appeared to be the odor of burning garbage during a rehearsal of "Rhapsody in Blue," and experienced an increasing number of headaches that became increasingly painful. His physicians suspected that he had a brain tumor and recommended emergency surgery.

 

On July 11, 1937, surgeons found a massive tumor in Gershwin’s brain impinging on his olfactory nerve. Although they removed the tumor, he did not survive the operation.

 

"Yes, Gershwin’s depression was undoubtedly due to his brain tumor," Kogan contends. "While writing ‘Porgy and Bess’ he was dying, but didn’t know it. Nonetheless, I think it was the depression plus dying that informed his ability to write something of such exquisite depth.""

 

 

 

Never give psychotherapy to a brain tumor!