Holding hands at midnight
‘Neath a starry sky
Nice work if you can get it
And you can get it if you try
Ira Gershwin’s famous lyric is not about work in the occupational sense. The song’s verse rejects “the man who only lives for making money” and who “works for fame.” Instead, it is the more spiritually informed work of building a loving relationship. The song’s narrator seems to have all of the answers until the final lines, “…if you get it, Won’t you tell me how?”
Nice Work If You Can Get It was written for the 1937 film, A Damsel in Distress, starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. George Gershwin’s sunny melody meets the jazzy virtuosity of the great Art Tatum on this 1949 recording:
Recordings
Gershwin: Nice Work If You Can Get It, Art Tatum (The Complete Capitol Recordings of Art Tatum) Amazon
This is a very interesting article. Although I was very familiar with the songs quoted, I had never heard of Art Tatum. Thank you for sharing!