"If You Were the Only Girl (In the World)" is a popular song written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey. It was written for the musical revue The Bing Boys Are Here, which premiered on 19 April 1916 at the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square, London. The song was originally performed as a duet between Lucius Bing, played by George Robey, and his love interest Emma, originated by Violet Loraine.
Contents
- Doris Day versions
- Barbra Streisand version
- Lyrics
- Other recordings
- Film and television appearances
- References
The song was published in 1916 and republished in 1946. It has become a standard, recorded by many artists.
Doris Day versions
Doris Day recorded the song for her album By the Light of the Silvery Moon and sang the song with Gordon MacRae in the 1953 film By the Light of the Silvery Moon.
Barbra Streisand version
Barbra Streisand recorded this song under the title "If You Were the Only Boy in the World", with a Peter Matz arrangement for her album My Name Is Barbra in 1965.
Lyrics
Sometimes when I feel bad
and things look blue
I wish a girl I had... say one like you.
Someone within my heart to build her throne
Someone who'd never part, to call my own
If you were the only girl in the world
and I were the only boy
Nothing else would matter in the world today
We could go on loving in the same old way
A garden of Eden just made for two
With nothing to mar our joy
I would say such wonderful things to you
There would be such wonderful things to do
If you were the only girl in the world
and I were the only boy.
No-one I'll ever care for dear... but you.
No-one I'll fancy, therefore love me do.
Your eyes have set me dreaming all night long...
Your eyes have set me scheming, right or wrong
If you were the only girl in the world
and I were the only boy
Nothing else would matter in the world today
We could go on loving in the same old way
A garden of Eden just made for two
With nothing to mar our joy
I would say such wonderful things to you
There would be such wonderful things to do
If you were the only girl in the world
and I were the only boy.
Other recordings
One well-known version was recorded by Perry Como on March 21, 1946, and released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1857-B, the flip side of "They Say It's Wonderful". This version reached #14 on the Billboard magazine charts. The recording was also released in the United Kingdom by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number BD-1165, the flip side of "I Dream of You (More than You Dream I Do)".
Donald Peers with two pianos recorded it at Royal Albert Hall, London, on June 13, 1949, as the first song of a medley along with "Blue Skies" and "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder". The medley was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 9792.
Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan, performed the song on his 1990 album Satan Takes a Holiday.
Film and television appearances
Actor-singer Rudy Vallee sang it in the 1929 film The Vagabond Lover, with the beat changed from a foxtrot to a waltz.
The song is performed at the entertainment evening in the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai, set during World War II.
The song was heard in the 2000 episode "Pardon My Past" of the television show Charmed.
The song was sung by a honeymooning couple in The Duchess of Duke Street, Series 2, Episode 8.
The song was sung for wounded British soldiers by the characters Lady Mary Crawley and Matthew Crawley (played by Michelle Dockery and Dan Stevens, respectively) in Series 2, Episode 4 of Downton Abbey, set in 1918 and broadcast in 2011. It was sung, ahistorically, in waltz (3/4) time.
The song is played as a solo piano instrumental by the character Malcolm Hamilton in the BBC Scotland soap, River City, at the end of the 3 July 2012 episode.