Kern–SB, You Are Love, 1936 movie, Dunne and Jones

Today we are going to return to one of the love songs in Show Boat. It is called “You Are Love,” and it comes near the end of Act One of the show.

Kern wrote three distinct styles of music for this musical: operetta, quasi-blues and majestic. Only one song can be called majestic: “Ol’ Man River.” Ravenal’s two solos and the three love songs are all in the operetta form. We have another love song left to cover and one more blues-like song to play. Then, we will explore some music written just for the 1936 movie.

I thing this is the third time we have covered this show from one perspective or another. I can personally tell you that I look forward to this music every time like a child ready to open birthday presents. All too soon, the number of songs dwindles down to “a precious few” like “The September Song” says, and I feel the desperate need to cling to what is left.

The first version of “You Are Love” is sung by Irene Dunne and Allan Jones. Their voices blended beautifully. Dunne was trained in the classic style for sopranos. Jones was a very good light baritone who could have just as easily sung tenor roles if he had been able to reach the high C. Let’s not worry about what they lacked; what they could do was excellent. And thanks to the miracle of youtube, we can watch it together.

By the way, when the key was dropped down for Howard Keel in the 1952 movie, it lost some of its operatic power. The key of a song is important, because the composer and the orchestrator chose the key to fit the music.

Oh, John, stop talking and play the song.

OK. Let’s watch and listen.