Now I'm Just A Pebble On A Lonely Beach...

I know that I said I'd get into rock and roll soon (and I'm working on that), but wanted to write a little about this song that I discovered a few months back. I heard this old standard type song for the first time on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Rose Marie sings it and does a fantastic job. The song is "Crying My Heart Out For You".

 

Between the syncopated and lilting melody and the lyrics from the point of view of a discarded lover, I was hooked. I like songs where there's a bit of contradiction between the melody and the lyrics - since the melody is fairly happy and the lyrics are a bit on the melancholy side. Kind of balancing each other out - keeping it from being too sad or bitter. And I especially like the sentiment of the second verse, "I hope you'll be more tender in your next affair… Hoping you'll be happy is my only prayer." I like to think that I'm that way when presented with a situation like this… At least, eventually! :)

 

 

Other than the Rose Marie version, I've run across 3 other recordings: Vera Lynn, Ella Fitzgerald, and a piano solo by the songs composer, Claude Hopkins. All the versions are great, though Rose Marie's performance is probably my favorite. I wish there were more versions of the song though. I'd have loved to have heard Judy Garland's or (especially) Karen Carpenter's take on this song. And I'd love to find sheet music for it, but alas, it's not easy to hunt down! Maybe I'll be able to find it one day. Until then, I guess I'll just make do with the recordings.