"Moonlight in Vermont": Music without rhyme with Sinatra & Ella

For Robert Pinsky, who observed that "Moonlight in Vermont" is one of the only standards -- possibly the only one -- without a rhyme. I'll have to check; I have a feeling that Hammerstein at some point or other tried writing a rhyme-less lyric. Here's the best recording of the great Green Mountain State standard. John Blackburn wrote the words, and Karl Suessdorf the music, of this 1944 song.

And here's what happened when Sinatra and Ella got together on the song: 

-- DL 

Comments

[lally]

gorgeous renditions, my long time favorites, thanks for posting David, I needed that...

[Sally Ashton]

One of my favorites. Willie Nelson's take is pretty splendid, too.

[Robert Pinsky]

Yes, nothing is better-- both of these versions.

And we poets might study these two masters-- and the song-- to learn about vowels and consonants. . . as materials.

(Thank you, David Lehman.)

RP

[Julie S]

I hate to disagree with the Master, DL, but c'mon--Betty Carter's version is pretty hard to beat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWe3FDaWUS8

[The Best American Poetry]

I would never put down Betty Carter! Thank you for the link.