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September Song

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see September Song (disambiguation).
"September Song"
Single by Walter Huston[1]
B-sideThe Scars[2]
PublishedSeptember 24, 1938 (1938-09-24) by Crawford Music Corp., New York[3]
ReleasedDecember 1938 (1938-12)[1]
RecordedNovember 14, 1938 (1938-11-14)[2]
StudioColumbia Records, 1776 Broadway, New York
GenrePopular music, musical theatre[1]
Length2:51
LabelBrunswick 8272[2]
Composer(s)Kurt Weill[2]
Lyricist(s)Maxwell Anderson[2]

"September Song" is an American standard popular song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. It was introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical production Knickerbocker Holiday.[1] The song has been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists.

Origins

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The song originated from Walter Huston's request that he should have one solo song in Knickerbocker Holiday if he were to play the role of the aged governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant. Anderson and Weill wrote the song in a couple of hours for Huston's gruff voice and limited vocal range.[4]

Knickerbocker Holiday was roughly based on Washington Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York set in New Amsterdam in 1647. It is a political allegory criticizing the policies of the New Deal through the portrayal of a semi–fascist government of New Amsterdam, with a corrupt governor and councilmen. It also involves a love triangle with a young woman forced to marry the governor Peter Stuyvesant while loving another.[5] The musical closed in April 1939 after a six-month run.[1]

Lyric content

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In "September Song", a man now recognizes the "plentiful waste of time" of earlier days, and in the "long, long while from May to December", having reached September, he is looking forward to spending the precious days of autumn with his loved one.[6]

Notable covers

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Use in other media

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"September Song" was used as diegetic music in the 1950 film September Affair.[9] The song is used in the 1987 Woody Allen film Radio Days; Allen has stated that the song may be the best American popular song ever written.[10]

In "Previews", the Season 1/Episode 14 of the TV series Smash, the character of producer Eileen Rand sings a version of "September Song". Anjelica Huston, who played Eileen Rand, is the granddaughter of Walter Huston, who introduced the song in the original production of Knickerbocker Holiday.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Chronology". 2013-07-06. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Brunswick 78rpm numerical listing discography: 8000 – end of series (8517)". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  3. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1938). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1938 Musical Compositions New Series, Vol. 33, Pt. 3 for the Year 1938. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  4. ^ Lisle, Tim (1994). Lives of the Great Songs. London: Penguin. p. 54. ISBN 0-14-024957-5.
  5. ^ Ewen, David. Complete Book of the American Musical Theater, Revised. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco pp. 224–225
  6. ^ Joe Horowitz (September 11, 2022). "Did Kurt Weill 'Look Back'?". artsjournal.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 576. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  8. ^ "Official Charts Company – Ian McCulloch". Official Charts. 19 January 2013.
  9. ^ Bosley Crowther (February 2, 1951). "The Screen in Review; September Affair, With Joan Fontaine and Joseph Cotten, Opens at the Music Hall". Amusements. The New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Stig Björkman (ed.), Woody Allen on Woody Allen. London: Faber and Faber, 1995, revised edition 2004, p. 160.
  11. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (3 May 2012). "Anjelica Huston Performs 'September Song' in Her 'Smash' Singing Debut".
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