June 2, 2007

"Days of Wine and Roses"

"Days of Wine and Roses" was written by Henry Mancini (notes) and Johnny Mercer (words). It was used in the 1962 movie of the same name. Mancini and Mercer received the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The best-known recording of the song was by Andy Williams in 1963, but several other recording artists have done the song, including Perry Como and composer Henry Mancini.

The phrase "days of wine and roses" is originally from the poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by the English writer Ernest Dowson (1867-1900):

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:

Out of a misty dream

Our path emerges for a while, then closes

Within a dream.

(info. from Wikipedia entry)

Someone did a montage of film clips done during the early '60s, accompanied by Mancini's version that is pretty nice. It's that phenomenon of being nostalgic for something you yourself didn't actually experience:



Here's another one by that guy who films his extensive album collection as specific tracks play. It's Julie London's version of "Days of Wines and Roses" from her 1965 album, Our Fair Lady:

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