" COME RAIN OR COME SHINE" - CLASSIC SONG FROM " ST. LOUIS WOMAN"

" Come Rain or Come Shine"- ClassIc  Song From " St. Louis Woman"

" Come Rain or Come Shine" is the most familiar song from the 1946 musical and the last to be featured from that show. According to legend, Arlen and Mercer met to talk about numbers to fit into the musical, Arlen left Mercer and went into his living room where he had a Steinway piano  on which he wanted to try a few ideas. He returned with a melody that contained some intriguing harmony and a conversational quality. Mercer thought for a second and came up with a first line " I'm gonna love like nobody's loved you...." to which Arlen added " Come Hell or high water,"  Mercer responded with what became the tiile of the song " Come rain or come shine." The song was completed that evening.
 Alec Wilder, perhaps the most persistent advocate for the songs of Harold Arlen, argued that " It is a superb ballad which could never be so great unless the device of repeated notes were the principle single element in the melody. "  In the second section, those repeated notes are left out introducing  an essential contrast. Wilder also adds that " The harmony, naturally is opulent throughout. But the song can sing itself quite independently."

 I am presenting two versions. The first is with singer Nora Jones performing with noted trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis and a small jazz combo. It is performed as a jazz piece the way it would be sung in an intimate club or cabaret setting, more conversational and less dramatic than the second version. That has Frank Sinatra showing his wonderful dramatic way of bringing a story to life and backed by the exquisite string arrangement of Don Costa. Sinatra is able to convince us that he is singing this song directly to the listener so convincing is his passionate conviction as he concludes " I'm with you always, I'm with you rain or shine. Listen to how he holds the note " deep" so lovingly in the passage " Deep -----as a river, Come Rain or come shine."

These are two quite different interpretations of the song. One loose and slightly improvised, vocally and instrumentally ;  the other, a dramatic reading , with minimal deviation from the written score. Both do justice to the Arlen/Mercer classic.

JONES/MARSALIS LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCj96k1A95g

SINATRA/DON COSTA LINK  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEhnbzReC3g