Remember (Irving Berlin song)

"Remember" is a popular song about nostalgia by Irving Berlin, published in 1925. The song is a popular standard, recorded by numerous artists.

Original sheet music cover

In the lyric, Berlin uses an interesting poetic technique by extending the sound of the word "forgot" into "forget me not" then placing the original word (forgot) and the base form of its opposite (remember) at the end of the next two lines:

Remember we found a lonely spot,
And after I learned to care a lot,
You promised that you'd forget me not,
But you forgot
To remember.

First recorded versions

Three different versions of "Remember" charted between May 1925 and February 1926: Jean Goldkette & His Orchestra featuring Seymour Simons on vocal reached number six, an instrumental recording by Isham Jones & His Orchestra spent a week at number one, and Cliff Edwards got as high as number 10.

Film appearances

• Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) - performed by Alice Faye
• Moontide (1942) - instrumental
• So This Is Love (1953) - sung by Kathryn Grayson
• There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) - sung by the cast and later by Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey
• Isn't It Shocking? (1973) Unknown vocalist, orchestrated by David Shire.

Other recorded versions

• Red Norvo (instrumental) (1937)
• Benny Goodman (instrumental) (1938)
• Erskine Hawkins (1946)
• Erroll Garner & Johnny Hartman (1950)
• Billie Holiday on her An Evening with Billie Holiday (1953)
• Julie London on her Lonely Girl (1956)
• Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine for their, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine Sing the Best of Irving Berlin (1957)
• Ella Fitzgerald on her, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book (1958)
• Thelonious Monk (Instrumental) for hisThelonious Alone in San Francisco (1959)
• Dinah Shore in the medley: 'Remember / All Alone / Always' for her Somebody Loves Me (1960)
• Betty Carter on her, The Modern Sound of Betty Carter (1960)
• The Ray Conniff Singers on their Young at Heart (1960)
• Hank Mobley (instrumental) for his Soul Station (1960)
• Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album On the Sentimental Side (1962), and he also recorded it for the album Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1968 version).
• Frank Sinatra for his All Alone (1962)
• Michael Feinstein and Liza Minnelli for his Remember: Michael Feinstein Sings Irving Berlin (1987)
• Wes Montgomery (Instrumental) on The Complete Riverside Recordings (1992)