"Skylark" is a song written by Johnny Mercer and composed by Hoagy Carmichael.
Being published in 1941 and released to the wide audience in 1942, it’s a pretty old song that has been reviewed and reinterpreted by various other artists along the years. A pop song with jazz influences, it is a song that can be considered classical for the genre.
The story of the song is that Carmichael had written the music, but the lyrics came a year later, because Johnny Mercer was in a period of longing over a woman that has gone away, that woman being singer and actress Judy Garland.
Once over, the song was an instant hit, getting to be known as a jazz standard. Anita O’Day and Helen Forrest alongside Harry James have covered the song since it was released.
In 1942, Glen Miller and his orchestra have sung the song, peaking at the seventh place on the charts, Billy Eckstine with the Earl Hines Orchestra following on that success. Years have passed and the song was still in people’s minds, getting recorded by Maxine Sullivan, The Clovers, The Hi-Lo’s, The Fleetwoods, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Desmond, Supersax, Linda Ronstadt, George Benson, Peter Skellern, Miki Howard and many others.
The lyrics express the writer’s longing for his lost and gone woman, verses such as "Won’t you tell me where my love can be" and "But my heart is riding on your wings" showing this fact.
The title of the song is the name of a bird that should aid the singer in his search for his lover, showing him where to find another love like that, or bring him back to her.
A great pop song that has also become a jazz standard, "Skylark" is a great piano choice and the piano sheets for it can be found below.
Check it out and keep coming back to us for more free material for piano.
