Our Love Is Here To Stay

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My cover of the 1938 Gershwin classic, Love Is Here To Stay. I'm singing to a karaoke jazz combo version of the song, based on Rod Stewart's 2003 cover.

OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY

It's very clear
our love is here to stay —
not for a year,
but ever and a day.
The radio and
the telephone and
the movies that we know
may just be passing fancies
that, in time, may go. . .

But, oh my dear,
our love is here to stay.
Together we're
going a long, long way.
In time, the Rockies may crumble,
Gibraltar may tumble. . .
They're only made of clay! But
our love is here to stay.

INSTRUMENTAL

The mobile phones and
the internet and
our favorite streaming shows
may just be passing fancies
that, in time, may go. . .

But, oh my dear,
our love is here to stay.
Together we're
going a long, long way.
In time, the Rockies may crumble,
Mount Ev'rest may tumble. . .
they're only made of clay! But
our love is here
our love is here
our love is here to stay.

ABOUT THE SONG

I absolutely wanted to include a Gershwin song in my Songs From the Great American Songbook, and Our Love Is Here To Stay is my favorite Gershwin song — so here it is!

Our Love Is Here To Stay was the very last song George Gershwin wrote before his death at 38 (in 1937). Ira Gershwin — his brother and his most frequent lyricist — wrote the words to the song after George's death, based on an idea George had given him for the lyrics. (It's also Ira's expression of enduring love for his brother.) The song was originally titled, Love Is Here To Stay, so that remains the official title. But Ira Gershwin had always wanted to change the title to Our Love Is Here To Stay (which makes much better sense). He didn't, out of respect for the original title choice. However, most singers who have covered the song in the last few decades have called it Our Love Is Here To Stay, and I'm doing the same.

LYRICS

Our Love Is Here To Stay was written in 1938. Because I sing the words to the song twice, I am able to use the second time to give some of the lyrics a more modern feeling.

For instance, when examples of "passing fancies" were chosen, they were things that were "hot" in 1938: the radio (TV would only become widely available in the 1950's), the telephone, and movies. Much time has passed, bringing many new candidates for 21st century "passing fancies". I've included some in the lyrics: mobile phones, the internet, and "our favorite streaming shows".

Similarly, "the Rockies" and "Gibraltar" were given as memorable examples of rock structures (but "only made of clay"). While the Rockies remains an impressive mountain range in the 21st century, I suspect if Ira Gershwin were writing the lyrics now, he wouldn't choose Gibraltar, but something much more impressive, like the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest — which only achieved worldwide notoriety in 1953 (15 years after Our Love Is Here To Stay was written), when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first documented ascent of Everest.

MUSIC

Song key — I picked out this karaoke arrangement (which was based on Rod Stewart's cover of the song) as my favorite among many different possibilities. But when I tried to sing with it, I was really straining because the key (F sharp) was too high. Fortunately, there are technologies that can lower pitch without degrading quality, and I used one to move the arrangement into a lower key I found more comfortable for my voice (E flat).

Closing the circle — At the very end of the song, I close the song by singing "Our love is here" three times (singing the full line, "Our love is here to stay" on the third and final time). I had some degree of freedom in how I could sing the second "our love is here". I had the sudden realization that I could take the opening four notes of the song:

and use them here at the very end of the song:

It was slightly dissonant (in a pleasant way), but very satisfying. . . a kind of "closing of the circle":