“September in the Rain” | Stories of Standards

 Composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin penned “September in the Rain” for the 1935 film, Stars Over Broadway.

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The full tune was ultimately cut from the final version of the film, appearing as a background melody in several scenes. “September in the Rain” did not appear with lyrics until a subsequent film, Melody for Two, in 1937.

After its debut, “September in the Rain” gained recognition on the radio show Your Hit Parade between 1935 and 1940. Other notable recordings include those by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, James Melton with Bobby Dolan’s Orchestra, Rhythm Wreckers, Sam Donahue and His Orchestra, and the George Shearing Quintet.

Philip Furia, author of The Poets of Tin Pan Alley, notes that though the tune “could easily have become a sentimental paean to ‘yesterdays,’ ‘September in the Rain’ has a dynamic melody that Dubin matches with vivid imagery and phrasing.”

Dubin’s lyrics construct a romantic setting, where “To every word of love I heard you whisper/ The raindrops seemed to play a sweet refrain.”

Dubin juxtaposes sentiment with the remembrance of a tumultuous fall, when “The leaves of brown came tumbling down” and “The sun went out just like a dying ember.” The specificity with which the narrator recalls “that September” creates the impression that the memories of autumn are somehow more immediate than the present spring.

Instrumental covers of “September in the Rain” include renditions by Stephane Grappelli, Dorothy Donegan, Milt Hinton, John Pizzarelli, and David Murray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iVjcMDPC14