If I Could Be With You
| PROFILE | |
| Composer | James P. Johnson |
| Lyricist | Henry Creamer |
| Year Written | 1926 |
| About If I Could Be With You | |
| Pianist James P. Johnson, who wrote this song, made a piano roll of it in 1927, the same year it was used in the revue Brownskin Models. In 1930, there were several successful recordings, including those by Louis Armstrong and Ruth Etting. Other recordings include those by Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Kay Starr, and Billie Holiday. | |
Lyrics
If I could be with you, I’d love you strong
If I could be with you, I’d love you long
I want you to know I wouldn’t go
Until I told you honey why I love you so
If I could be with you one hour tonight
If I was free to do the things I might
I’m telling you true, I’d be anything but blue
If I could be with you
Session / Album Information
1996
“If I Could Be With You” was recorded in June 1996 and released in 1997 on the album Tony Bennett On Holiday.
This recording released on:
- 1997: Columbia CD: CK 67774 — On Holiday
- 2011: Disc #63 in The Tony Bennett Complete Collection (88697874602-JK61) On Holiday