Seasons and Moods

“Blue Skies” – Weather Wednesday

randydafoe15 Comments

Every Wednesday I will pick some original weather-related titles and list a few covers. I will try and follow the most covered songs of all time list and pluck out the applicable titles, next on the list is the 148th most covered song of all time. Today the forecast is for “Blue Skies”.

“Blue Skies” first recorded (1926) and released (1927) by the Imperial Dance Orchestra with Vocal Chorus by Arthur Fields.

Blue skies smiling at me,
Nothing but blue skies do I see.
Blue birds singing a song,
Nothing but blue birds all day long.

Never saw the sun shining so bright.
Never saw things go oh so right.
Noticing the days hurrying by.
When you’re in love, my my how they fly.
Blue days, all of them gone.
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

Blue skies smiling at me.
Nothing but blue skies do I see.
Blue bird singing a song.
Nothing but blue birds all day long.

Never saw the sun shining so bright.
Never saw things go oh so right.
Dig those days hurrying by.
When you’re in love, my my how they fly.
Blue days, all of them gone.
Nothing but blue skies from now on.
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

The song was written by Irving Berlin, the tenth most recorded author of all time. It was for the stage production of Betsy from 1926, the music for that play was composed by the famed team of Richard Rodgers (3rd most recorded author) and lyrics by Lorenz Hart (11th most recorded author). They were only given two weeks to come up with the songs and even then Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr turned to Berlin for the big song, and he got it. The play was a flop, but the music lives on.

For many years the most popular version was by the legendary Ella Fitzgerald from 1960.

An upstart Country singer named Willie Nelson recorded it in 1978 and it hit #1 on the Country Chart. It was his fourth #1 single, all of them cover songs.

15 thoughts on ““Blue Skies” – Weather Wednesday”

  1. It seems I’ve heard this sung by many people over the years, none of whom I can think of at the moment. Ella Fitzgerald had one of the most beautiful and distinctive voices of the 20th century, although her scatting could be a bit overdone at times. But I really like both her and Willie Nelson’s versions.

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  3. Always liked Willie’s version; Is it just me, but I feel the way he sings is in it in a sadly ironic way. At least that’s the feel I get from it, especially when he goes into that slowful doleful ending. And it is one that speaks to me and works for me today!

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  6. For such a short song, it’s interesting how much of the first audio clip is an instrument intro! I love how you feature so many of those old recordings… the sound fidelity is lacking but strangely that’s part of the appeal!

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