This Is All I Ask
| PROFILE | |
| Composer and Lyricist | Gordon Jenkins |
| Year Written | 1958 |
| About This Is All I Ask | |
| Gordon Jenkins was a prolific composer, arranger and conductor from the 1930s through the 1960s. He worked closely with artists including Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. Jenkins won a Grammy Award for Sinatra’s 1965 album September of My Years, which included a recording of This Is All I Ask. Jenkins is said to have considered this song his favorite of all the songs he wrote. | |
Lyrics
As I approach the prime of my life
I find I have the time of my life
Learning to enjoy at my leisure
All the simple pleasure
And so I happily concede
That this is all I ask
This is all I need
Beautiful girl, walk a little slower when you walk by me
Lingering sunset, stay a little longer with the lonely sea
Children everywhere, when you shoot at bad men, shoot at me
Take me to that strange enchanted land
Grownups seldom understand
Wandering rainbows, leave a bit of color for my heart to own
Stars in the sky, make my wish come true
Before the night has flown
And let the music play as long as there’s a song to sing
And I will stay younger than spring
Session / Album Information
1960
This song was recorded on March 1, 1960 and released in 1960 on Alone Together.
This recording was released on:
- 1960: Columbia LP 12″: CS 8262 — Alone Together
- 1960: Columbia LP 12″ (Mono): CL 1471 — Alone Together
- 1960: CBS/Sony CD: 32DP-568 — Alone Together [Japan]
- 1960: Philips LP 12″: BBL 7452 — Alone Together (UK)
- 1986: Columbia CD: — 16 Most Requested Songs (1986)
- 1986: CBS/Sony CD: 32DP-558 — 16 Most Requested Songs [Japan]
- 1990: Columbia/Legacy CD: CK-40215 — 16 Most Requested Songs
- 1990: Columbia/Legacy CD: 40215 — 16 Most Requested Songs
- 1990: Columbia CD: 40215 — 16 Most Requested Songs
- 1992: Sony Mid-Price CD: 4724182 — 16 Most Requested Songs
- 2001: Sony Music CD: SRCS-9093 — 16 Most Requested Songs
- 2005: Sony Music CD: 4721952 — 16 Most Requested Songs
- 2011: Disc #17 in The Tony Bennett Complete Collection (88697874602-JK17) Alone Together
1963
“This Is All I Ask” was recorded on April 26, 1963 and released in 1963 on the album This Is All I Ask. It was arranged by Ralph Burns.
This recording released on:
- 1963: Columbia 45: 4-42820
- 1963: Columbia LP 12″: CS 8856 — This Is All I Ask
- 1963: Columbia LP 12″ (Mono): CL 2056 — This Is All I Ask
- 1965: Columbia 45: 4-33080
- 1965: CBS EP: EP 6066 — When Joanna Loved Me (
- 1965: Columbia LP 12″: CL 2373 — Tony’s Greatest Hits, Vol. III
- 1965: Columbia LP 12″: CS 9173 — Tony’s Greatest Hits, Vol. III
- 1967: CBS LP 12″: SBPG 62821 — Tony’s Greatest Hits [UK]
- 1970: Columbia LP 12″: C 30240 — Sings His All-Time Hall Of Fame Hits
- 1972: CBS LP 12″: CBS 68200 — All-Time Greatest Hits [UK]
- 1972: Columbia LP 12″: KG 31494 — All-Time Greatest Hits
- 1991: Columbia CD: CSK 4083 — Forty Years: The Artistry Of Tony Bennett (Promo)
- 1991: Columbia CD: C4K 46843 — Forty Years – The Artistry Of Tony Bennett
- 1993: CBS/Sony CD: SRCS-6641 — Forty Years: The Artistry Of Tony Bennett
- 1997: Columbia CD: CK 65405 — Sings His All-Time Hall of Fame Hits
- 1997: Columbia CD: CK 65316 — All-Time Greatest Hits
- 1999: Sony International CD: 91207 — The Essential Tony Bennett: A Retrospective
- 2002: Columbia/Legacy CD: 86634 — The Essential Tony Bennett
- 2004: Columbia/Legacy CD: C5K 92784 — Fifty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett
- 2005: Collectables CD: CCL8053 — The Good Life
- 2006: RPM/Columbia/Legacy CD: 84779 — Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits Of The ’60s
- 2008: Columbia/RPM/Legacy CD: 731397 — The Essential Tony Bennett [Limited Edition 3.0]
- 2011: Disc #27 in The Tony Bennett Complete Collection (88697874602-JK26) This Is All I Ask
2011
“This Is All I Ask” with Josh Grobin was recorded in 2011 and was released that year on Duets II. It was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.
This recording released on:
- 2011: RPM Sony 88697662532: Duets II
- 2011: RPM Sony 88697961501: Duets II (LP)
- 2011: Disc #71 in The Tony Bennett Complete Collection (88697874602-JK69) Duets II