Something to Remember You By

When first sung in a 1929 London musical, this melody had a snappy beat and was mated to a comic verse called "I Have No Words." Later, lyricist Dietz came up with the present title and composer Schwartz slowed down the melody.

Words by Howard Dietz
Music by Arthur Schwartz

The year was 1929, the occasion was my seventh birthday party. The party had gone well and my father was driving the guests to my birthday party home in our family's 1928 Essex Sports Roadster. The last guest to be taken home was a young lady who was a almost exact double for the little girl starred in the TV series "The Wonder Years" a black-haired beauty with beautiful cold black hair cut in a "Bangs" hair style. Her beautiful dark eyes only accented her flawless facial beauty. Never was there such beauty this close to me as we sat in the "jump seat" of the car. Overcome with her beauty I kissed her on the cheek, and it was well received, and we held hands the rest of the trip to her home which was "way out" in the country.

If you have ever been in love while in the second grade you know what I mean.

I made a mistake and told my best friend and playmate of the time I was in love. His reaction was to tease me to the point that our friendship was severely strained. He contracted polio sometime afterwards, and was crippled for the rest of his life. He was killed in a bar room fight shortly after World War II.

The little girl, I never spoke to after my buddy teased me about her. I am sure she wondered why I avoided her. Well, I finally did speak to her in about 1950. She married a boy in our class. He became a Pharmacist, and I couldn't resist going by his drug store when I heard they had married. They had one child, who never married.

The little black headed beauty died about three years ago. The last time I drove through my old home town I placed a beautiful red rose on her grave. (Beautiful things in your life live forever.)

August 8, 2002

14:48 9/19/2003