lida rose, i'm home again rose
to get the sun back in my sky...

for some reason, this song got stuck in my head today. from the music man. i mostly know it because once upon a time my dad sang in a barbershop quartet, floppy red clip-on bowties and all... so certain baritone lines are an intrinsic part of my childhood. and this one's usually paired with a soaring counterpoint melody, "will i ever tell you," that makes it rich and gorgeous when done well.

since i was trapped sharing mental space with the melody anyway, i went looking for a danceable version. after all, it has a natural lilt to it, nice harmonies, who could resist swinging it? everyone, i guess, at least if i trust allmusic.com. being written in the late 50s means missing most of the swing era, but still. it makes me sad. it makes me wish i were still musician enough to grab a group and take out the show-off-the-pretty-chord fermatas, add a rhythm section, maybe a little extra syncopation here and there...