It's only a Paper Moon ( Without Your Love) In 1932, for a not so great show called The Great Magoo, Arlen, E.Y.Harburg and Billy Rose wrote a whimsical song that suggested, among other things, that the moon was only paper, that the sea was only cardboard, that it's a Barnum and Bailey world, just as phony as it can be-nothing in life was real unless as the song goes " It wouldn't be make believe, " If you believed in me."
Again it's another example of how Arlen, with the right collaborators, can create light-hearted and wistful , funny songs as well as his more serious and profound works like
" Last Night When We Were Young ". or " Blues in the Night."
It is a tune much favoured by jazz musicians since it lends itself to a swinging tempo and a rhythmic pulse.
In the early days of the Nat King Cole Trio, Nat Cole demonstrated the jazz friendly nature of the song not only in his singing but in the interplay with members of the trio. In less than 3 minutes, we are treated to a lesson in how an innovative jazz treatment can enhance
a standard American popular song.
Nat Cole Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc5RMYvXOhA
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