| Composer | Bart Howard |
| Lyricist | Bart Howard |
| Year Written | 1954 |
About This Song
Originally titled “In Other Words,” “Fly Me To the Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording in 1954. Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1964, followed by Tony Bennett in 1965. In 1999 The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted it as a “Towering Song.” In June 2006, CBS News included “Fly Me To the Moon” in its list of 250 essential American songs in the past 250 years.
View the lyrics
Poets often use many words
To say a simple thing
It takes thought and time and rhyme
To make a poem sing
With music and words I’ve been playing
For you, I have written a song
To be sure that you’ll know what I’m saying
I’ll translate as I go along
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words (In other words)
Hold my hand
In other words (In other words)
Darling, kiss me
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words (In other words)
Please be true
In other words
I love you
Recordings
1965
Tony Bennett recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” on February 18, 1995. Don Costa wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.
CO 85438
Release History
| 1965 | Columbia 45: 4-43331 |
| 1965 | Columbia LP 12″: CS 9143 — If I Ruled The World (Songs For The Jet Set) |
| 1965 | Columbia LP 12″: CL 2343 — If I Ruled The World (Songs For The Jet Set) |
| 1965 | CBS EP: EP 6066 — When Joanna Loved Me |
1966 to current
| 1969 | CBS LP 12″: 63612 — Greatest Hits, Volume II (UK) |
| 1969 | Columbia LP 12″: CS 9814 — Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits, Vol. IV |
| 1974 | Embassy LP 12″: EMB 31058 — If I Ruled the World [UK] |
| 1990 | Columbia CD: SOY21552 — The Good Life |
| 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 65317 — If I Ruled The World (Songs For The Jet Set) |
| 1999 | Sony International CD: 91207 — The Essential Tony Bennett: A Retrospective |
| 2002 | Columbia/Legacy CD: 86634 — The Essential Tony Bennett |
| 2003 | Globo/Columbia CD: 0030 2 — All The Best [Brazil] |
| 2003 | Liberty CD: 281926 — The Best of the Definitive American Songbook, Vol. 1 |
| 2003 | Liberty CD: 92819 — The Best of the Definitive American Songbook, Vol. 1 |
| 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 | Columbia: The Complete Collection — Disc 31 — If I Ruled The World (Songs For The Jet Set) |
| 2013 | Columbia — Sixty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett |