"THE LAMP IS LOW" (1939)

From Sigmund Romberg through Elvis Presley and the Beatles to LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys, writers of popular songs have appropriated classical music themes for their own compositions. Since many classical works are not under copyright protection because of their age, musicians may freely borrow from that repertoire for inspiration.

"The Lamp is Low" is one of the jazz standards with a classical forebear. Its melody was adapted by Peter De Rose and Bert Shefter from Maurice Ravel’s "Pavane pour une infante défunte" (Pavane for a Dead Princess). In 1899 Ravel was commissioned to write a somewhat whimsical salon piece for piano, and "Pavane for a
Dead Princess" was the result. Ravel always assured listeners it was not a lament for a dead princess; he claimed he chose the title because he liked the sonority of the French words "infante défunte." The Pavane premiered in 1902 to immediate acclaim and was sufficiently popular that Ravel orchestrated it in 1910, which is the version heard in today’s concert halls.

It was not an uncommon Tin Pan Alley practice to ask lyricists to set words to an already composed and sometimes already popular jazz instrumental to transform it into a mainstream pop song. Mitchell Parish, the lyricist for "The Lamp is Low", was the most prolific of such wordsmiths. Like many writers who set lyrics to instrumentals, Parish never established an enduring collaboration with one composer. By his reckoning, he worked on songs by 100 different composers,including Hoagy Carmichael, Leroy Anderson, Sammy Fain, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller.

During a songwriting career of more than 70 years, Parish wrote lyrics for over 600 songs, including such classics as "Star Dust", "Deep Purple", "Stars Fell on Alabama", "Stairway to the Stars", and "Moonlight Serenade." Unlike many other lyricists writing in the 1920s and 1930s, he strove for a poetic rather than a slangy or vernacular lyric. He even authored a book of verse, For Those in Love, and some consider him to be the poet laureate of songwriters. The moon and stars often appear in his songs and "The Lamp is Low" is no exception, with the moon showing up twice in its lyrics. William Zinsser in his book Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs, provides the following quote from Parish regarding why he used so many astral bodies in his songs: "Growing up on the Lower East Side, we didn’t see stars. I don’t want to psychoanalyze myself, but I sometimes think that those song lyrics about the moon and the stars represented an escape. They expressed a longing for what I couldn’t see."

Mildred Bailey made the first notable recording of the "The Lamp is Low" in 1939. Covers by other musicians quickly followed, including ones by Tommy Dorsey and by the Harry James Orchestra with vocals by a very young Frank Sinatra. The song was on the Hit Parade in 1939 for nine weeks and continues to be a favorite of jazz musicians, with recent recordings by Kate McGarry and Robin McKelle. The classical composition from which it sprang did not fare as well with its creator. In his later years Ravel tried to distance himself from his Pavane. The reason for his reaction isn’t known with certainty, but he simply may have been tired of amateur pianists trying their hand at it. He told one such performer, "Next time, I hope you’ll remember that I wrote a Pavane for a deceased princess … not a deceased Pavane for a princess." One wonders what he would think of the treatment his Pavane has received from jazz artists over the last 70 years.

"The Lamp is Low" by Peter De Rose/Bert A. Shefter and Mitchell Parish

Another perfect day has come to a close,
Twelve o’clock, all is well
And while a sleepy world is lost in repose,
Let my heart softly tell you
Dream beside me in the midnight glow,
The lamp is low.

Dream and watch the shadows come and go,
The lamp is low.

While you linger in my arms,
My lips will sigh I love you so
Dream the sweetest dream we’ll ever know,
Tonight the moon is high,
The lamp is low.

Dream the sweetest dream we’ll ever know,
Tonight the moon is high,
The lamp is low.