“Blue Moon” | Stories of Standards

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s “Blue Moon” underwent an arduous journey to fame. After three name changes and several lyrical revisions, the tune finally gained traction, becoming a number one hit and selling over one million copies of sheet music.

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The song, originally titled “Prayer,” was written for The Hollywood Revue of 1933. Rodgers penned the song for Jean Harlow’s character, an aspiring actor.

The original lyrics began with Harlow singing, “Oh, Lord, if you’re not busy up there, I ask for help with a prayer/ So Please don’t give me the air.” After several production and casting changes, the film was scaled down, rewritten as a comedy, and released as Hollywood Party (1934). “Prayer” was never included in the film.

Later in 1934, MGM picked up the tune for the film Manhattan Melodrama. Hart rewrote the lyrics, naming the song, “It’s Just That Kind of Play.” This time, the song depicted a morning work commute on the subway. MGM rejected the lyrics but remained enthusiastic about the tune, sending Hart back to the drawing board. Ultimately, Shirley Ross performed the number, now “The Bad in Every Man,” in a night club scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3t0cBC6g5U

Music publisher Jack Robbins had a different idea for Rodgers and Hart’s creation. He challenged the duo to create more commercial lyrics so that he could “plug it from one end of the country to the other.”

Robbins envisioned a Tin Pan Alley style song, with lyrics that rhymed with June, moon, and spoon. Hart took a literal interpretation of Robbins’ request, the result of which is “Blue Moon.” Though the song ultimately prevailed as Hart’s most popular song, Hart did not personally like it.

“Blue Moon” is a phrase that originated in the 1800s, a shortened version of the saying, “until a blue moon.” This phrase is employed similarly to “when pigs fly,” though the saying has evolved to describe the occurrence of two full moons in a single month—an event that happens every 32 months.

Critically, “Blue Moon” does not rank high among Rodgers and Hart’s works due to the simplicity of its construction.