‘Always’ was written by Irving Berlin in 1925 as a wedding gift for his wife Ellin McKay. It was recorded by Paul McCartney for his 2012 album Kisses On The Bottom.
Berlin gave the royalties from the song to his wife, whom he married in 1926. It was to feature in the Marx Brothers’ 1925 Broadway musical The Cocoanuts, but was cut by Berlin before the production opened.
‘Always’ has been recorded by a range of artists including Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Billy Corgan, Leonard Cohen, Phil Collins and The Ink Spots. Diana Ross and the Supremes performed a Motown-styled version of the song as a tribute to Irving Berlin on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Bandleader Sammy Kaye recorded two versions of ‘Always’. In 1945 he had a hit with singer Arthur Wright, and in 1949 it appeared on an album with Tony Alamo.
Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughan also recorded it as a duet, and Deanna Durbin sang the song in the 1944 film Christmas Holiday.
Harry Nilsson, a friend of The Beatles’, recorded ‘Always’ for his 1973 album of standards A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night. He also taped a version of ‘It’s Only A Paper Moon’, another Kisses On The Bottom song, although it was unreleased until the 1988 reissue A Touch More Schmilsson In The Night.
In the studio
The basic track for ‘Always’ was recorded at Avatar Studios in New York, with the orchestra overdubbed at Abbey Road Studios in London. The rhythm arrangement was by Diana Krall.
Lyrics
Everything went wrong
And the whole day long
I’d feel so blue
For the longest while
I’d forget to smile
Then I met you
Now that my blue days have passed
Now that I’ve found you at last
I’ll be loving you always
With a love that’s true always
When the things you’ve planned
Need a helping hand
I will understand always
Always
Days may not be fair always
That’s when I’ll be there always
Not for just an hour
Not for just a day
Not for just a year
But always
Days may not be fair always
But that’s when I’ll be there always
Not for just an hour
Not for just a day
Not for just a year
But always
