| Composer | Charles Strouse |
| Lyricist | Lee Adams |
| Year Written | 1962 |
About This Song
“Once Upon a Time” was written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams for the 1962 musical All American, where it was introduced by Ray Bolger and Eileen Herlie. This song has been recorded by Eddie Fisher, Frank Sinatra, and Perry Como, among others.
View the lyrics
Once upon a time a girl with moonlight in her eyes
Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so
But that was once upon a time very long ago
Once upon a hill we sat beneath a willow tree
Counting all the stars and waiting for the dawn
But that was once upon a time, now the tree is gone
How the breeze ruffled through her hair
How we always laughed as though tomorrow wasn’t there
We were young and didn’t have a care
Where did it go?
Once upon a time the world was sweeter than we knew
Everything was ours, how happy we were then
But somehow once upon a time never comes again
Recordings
1962
Tony Bennett recorded “Once Upon a Time” on January 23, 1962. Marty Manning wrote the arrangement.
CO 69011
Release History
| 1962 | Columbia 45: 4-42332 |
| 1962 | Columbia LP 12″: CS 8669 — I Left My Heart In San Francisco |
| 1962 | Columbia LP 12″ (Mono): CL 1869 — I Left My Heart In San Francisco |
| 1962 | CBS LP 12″ (Mono): BPG 62201 — I Left My Heart In San Francisco [UK] |
| 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] |
| 1980 | CBS LP 12″: 32732 — I Left My Heart In San Francisco [UK] |
| 1990 | CBS/Sony CD: CSCS-5241 — I Left My Heart In San Francisco [Japan] |
| 1990 | Columbia CD: CK 08669 — I Left My Heart In San Francisco |
| 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 |
| 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 | Columbia: The Complete Collection — Disc 23 — I Left My Heart in San Francisco |
| 2013 | Columbia — Sixty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett |