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Aren't We All?

by Holly Frost

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Joanna Castillo
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about

A lovely song from 1929 called "(I'm a Dreamer) Aren't We All?" was a central musical theme for a pre-code Fox movie-musical starring Janet Gaynor. An early "pop" recording of the song released that same year by a vocal group including a young Bing Crosby hit the charts. While I would personally consider it a more "obscure" standard, it has been used and performed frequently over the last century, made a lasting impact on pop culture, and was even included on John Coltrane's 1958 album "Bahia."

For this cover, I wanted to keep it sweet and simple to let the composition shine, but I did want to modernize it just a touch in that way that I like to try to do 🙃 so there are some really fun rhythmic ukulele riffs (another nod to the 20s) and a build-up to a cool half-time feel with percussion contributed by my husband, drummer Eduardo Torres.

The beginning of the song has an introductory section (different from the main "meat" of the song) that is relatively common in this genre, specifically for songs that were originally written for or used in musical films, and these are called a "verse." I like to think of the "verse" as jazz' version of opera's "recitative" - a musical sung element that drives the plot forward so that the emotional moment (the "song" or "aria") has some context. I absolutely love finding and performing the verses for these old songs(and even add "verses" to the original songs I write in this standard-style) so I had to include this one. To my chagrin, in between recording this and now I actually found an alternate verse! So I've been using both during live performances.

lyrics

Aren't we all in search of happiness? To each one it means a different thing:
To some it's wealth, to some it's health, to some it's only what love can bring
Please don't blame me if I'm human, too. I’m the same as you, and you, and you:

I'm a dreamer. Aren't we all? Just a dreamer- but aren't we all?
In my dreams each night it seems my lover comes to call
He's so charming, strong and tall. It’s alarming how I fall.
He's divine, but then he can’t be mine - and I'm a fool. But- aren't we all?

He's so charming, just divine. It's alarming how I pine.
He's ideal, but then he isn't real, and I'm a fool - but aren't we all?

credits

released February 24, 2023
Music and Lyrics by B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson, 1929

Produced, engineered, mixed, mastered by Holly Frost in Austin, TX
Vocals, guitar, ukulele - Holly Frost
Percussion - Eduardo Torres
Artwork - Ian Branch Design

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Holly Frost Austin, Texas

Holly Frost is a singer-songwriter paying tribute to music from the past through unique renditions of classic songs as well as tin-pan-alley-inspired original compositions. Her eclectic musical background and charming voice blend jazz, folk, cabaret, and thoughtful pop in a way you've never heard before. ... more

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