“You’ll never know just how much I miss you
You’ll never know just how much I care
And if I tried, I still couldn’t hide my love for you
You ought to know, for haven’t I told you so?”
Do the lyrics seem familiar? I, for one, obviously love the song. I grew up hearing the song, I should say. My grandfather used to sing this to me while playing his ukulele. Not only that. He used to sing it to me anytime of the day. Nighttime was always my favorite part. It brings back good ole’ memories. Of course, reminiscing is best when you have someone to share it with. So, here we go.
When We First Heard the Song
“You’ll Never Know” is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics penned by Mack Gordon. The song is based on a poem written by a young Oklahoma war bride named Dorothy Fern Norris. It was first made known in a 1943 movie Hello, Frisco, Hello, where it was sung by Alice Faye. Some pointed out a coincidence in some notes of the song to that of Pat Boone’s Love Letters in the Sand. The first four notes of the song, which go with the words “You’ll nev-er know,” features a one-octave climb. It is the same as the third through sixth notes of “Love Letters in the Sand.” The latter set of four notes goes with the words “[On a] day like to-day.”
The song was one of nine nominated songs and bagged the 1943 Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song is often credited as Faye’s signature song. She performed it in the 1944 film Four Jills in a Jeep. However, Faye never released a record of the ballad. Repeated recordings of the song by other singers later weakened her association with it. Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Rosemary Clooney, and Harry James were some of the artists that recorded the songs. It was also the first song that Barbra Streisand ever recorded, in 1955, when she was 13 years old.
Our Man, Willie Nelson, Made It Country
Keeping it country, as always, I intentionally searched for a country version of the song. Luckily, I found Willie Nelson’s piece. Willie Nelson had this track in his 1993 Moonlight Becomes You album. It’s like going back to my childhood again.
Sing along with Willie Nelson’s version below and do not forget to share it with friends.
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