Category: Musical theatre

Darn that dream

Posted on Posted in Louis Armstrong, Lucien Aigner, Musical theatre, Photography, William ShakespeareLeave a comment
‘Somehow, I suspect that if Shakespeare were alive today, he might be a jazz fan himself.’ — Duke Ellington
 Lucien Aigner ~ Louis Armstrong as Bottom in the stage musical Swingin’ the Dream, a jazz version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, 1939


~~~~~
Darn that dream I dream each night.
You say you love me and hold me tight,
But when I awake and you’re out of sight,
Oh, darn that dream.

Darn your lips and darn your eyes,
They lift me high above the moonlit sky,
Then I tumble out of paradise–
Oh, darn that dream.

Darn that one-track mind of mine,
It can’t understand that you don’t care.
Just to change the mood I’m in,
I’d welcome a nice old nightmare.

Darn that dream, and bless it, too.
Without that dream I’d never have you.
But it haunts me, and it won’t come true,
Oh, darn that dream.


music by Jimmy Van Heusen
lyrics by Eddie DeLange