Did you say I've got a lot to learn?
Well don't think I'm trying not to learn.
Since this is the perfect spot to learn,
Teach me tonight.
Starting with the A-B-C of it
Right down to the X-Y-Z of it,
Help me solve the mystery of it;
Teach me tonight.
The sky's a blackboard high above you;
If a shooting star goes by,
I'll use that star to write I love you
A thousand times across the sky.
One think isn't very clear, my love,
Should the teacher stand so near, my love?
Graduation's almost here, my love,
Teach me tonight.
This song marks the first collaboration
between lyricist Sammy Cahn and the composer Gene De Paul. At the
time, Cahn was under contract to Warner Brothers in Hollywood, and the
studio had the right of first refusal on the tune. After Warners
decided to turn
it down, the song finally wound up at a company called Hub Music.
"Teach Me Tonight" was originally recorded on Decca by a singer
named Janet Brace and sold, according to Sammy, exactly three copies -
one bought by Miss
Brace, one by Gene De Paul and one by Sammy himself. But The
DeCastro
Sisters' 1954 recording turned the song into a big hit which was on the
charts from November 1954 through February 1955. The song
subsequently
became one of Cahn's most enduring standards. Among the diverse
performers
who have recorded it over the years are Jo Stafford, Joe Williams,
Erroll
Garner, Sammy Davis and many others, including folk singer Phoebe Snow
in
the 70's and Toni Tennille. In 1983, Frank Sinatra commissioned
Sammy
to write a new set of lyrics for "Teach Me Tonight" and another Cahn
song,
"Until the Real Thing Comes Along", and recorded the two tunes with the
new
verses. As is usually the case, however, great lyrics are better
left
alone. The lyrics above are Sammy Cahn's original lyrics.
