| Composer | Kurt Weill |
| Lyricist | Maxwell Anderson |
| Year Written | 1938 |
About This Song
“It Never Was You” was written for the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday; a film version was released in 1944. “September Song,” a popular standard, is also from Knickerbocker Holiday.
View the lyrics
I’ve been hunting through the woods
I’ve been fishing over water
For one certain girl
Who’s a certain father’s daughter
I’ve been following trails
I’ve been staring after ships
For a certain pair of eyes
And a certain pair lips
Yes, I’ve looked everywhere
You can look without wings
And I’ve found a great variety
Of interesting things
But it never was you
It never was anywhere you
An occasional sunset reminded me
Or a flower hanging high on a tulip tree
Or one red star hung low in the west
Or a heart-break call from a meadowlark’s nest
Made me think for a moment
Maybe its true
I found her in the star
In the call, in the blue
But it never was you
It never was anywhere you
It never was anywhere you
Recordings
1961
Tony Bennett recorded “It Never Was You” on April 6, 1961. Ralph Burns wrote the arrangement.
CO 66566
Release History
| 1961 | Columbia LP 12″: CS 8458 — My Heart Sings |
| 1961 | Columbia LP 12″ (Mono): CL 1658 — My Heart Sings |
| 1961 | Philips LP 12″ (Mono): BBL 7495 — My Heart Sings (UK) |
| 1990 | CBS/Sony CD: CSCS-5245 — My Heart Sings [Japan] |
| 2011 | Columbia: The Complete Collection — Disc 20 — My Heart Sings |