One of many reasons I love music from the 1930’s is that it’s so classy, even the naughty songs are done elegantly. Risqué meanings are cloaked in sweet poetry. Even a song about a one-night stand — in this case, Harry Woods’ 1934 hit Midnight, the Stars and You — may seem just an innocent-sounding love song, if one doesn’t pay too close attention.
Midnight with the stars and you
Midnight and a rendezvous
Your eyes held a message tender
Saying “I surrender all my love to you”
Why is this couple rendezvous-ing at midnight? She’s going all the way surrendering all her love to him. But wait a minute:
Midnight brought us sweet romance
I know all my whole life through
I’ll be remembering you, whatever else I do
Midnight with the stars and you
“What do you mean ‘you’ll be remembering me’?! Where are you going?”, the poor girl must have thought to herself!
Can one imagine a contemporary song about such a topic ever being put so delicately?
The definitive recording of this song is the one from 1934 by Ray Noble and his Orchestra, sung by Al Bowlly.
Of course, one cannot talk about Midnight, the Stars and You without at least mentioning it’s use in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film The Shining. One assumes Kubrick chose this song out of a sense of irony. It’s unfortunate that modern ears now associate it with impending horror because of the film. It really is a lovely song that stands all on its own.
