Sometimes I'm Happy (Sometimes I'm Blue)

"Sometimes I'm Happy"
Song by Charles King & Louise Groody
Published 1927
Composer(s) Vincent Youmans
Lyricist(s) Irving Caesar

"Sometimes I'm Happy" is a popular song. The music was written by Vincent Youmans, the lyrics by Irving Caesar. The song was originally published in 1923 under the title "Come On And Pet Me," with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and William Cary Duncan.

Background

It was originally intended for the Broadway musical Mary Jane McKane, but was cut before the show opened. The music was subsequently used, with new lyrics and title, in the short-lived 1925 musical A Night Out, and in the musical Hit the Deck, starring Stanley Holloway and opening in April 1927.

The song was performed in Hit the Deck by Charles King and Louise Groody, who also made a recording for Victor Records, catalog number 20609. The best-selling versions were by King and Groody and by Roger Wolfe Kahn (with vocal by Franklyn Baur), also issued by Victor (catalog number 20599). Two other versions, a duet by Baur and Gladys Rice on Columbia Records (catalog number 998-D) and a vocal by Vaughn De Leath on Brunswick Records (catalog number 3608) also had a significant degree of popularity.

A number of other recordings was made in 1927 (see below), and the tune has become a standard, recorded by many artists since that time. It appeared as the B-side of the landmark 1935 recording of "King Porter Stomp" by Benny Goodman and his orchestra (released July 31 as Victor 25090).

Lyrics (Come On And Pet Me version)

There's a girl friend that I know
Has a boy friend who is slow
When they're alone he is shy,
And she has to keep complaining:
Come on and pet me, why don't you pet me?
Why don't you get me to let you pet me?
You never ask me out for a spoon
For all I know, there ain't any moon!
I'd like to bask in your fond caressin'
You do the askin' I'll do the yessin'
Within your arms I'd stay for a year
Come on and pet me, dear, do dear!

Lyrics (Sometimes I'm Happy version)

Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm blue
My disposition depends on you
I never mind the rain from the sky
If I can find the sun in your eyes
Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you
But when I hate you, it's 'cause I love you
That's how I am
So what can I do?
I'm happy when I'm with you
Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm blue
My disposition depends on you
I never mind the rain from the sky
If I can find the sun in your eyes
Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you
But when I hate you, it's 'cause I love you
That's how I am
So what can I do?
I'm always happy
So very happy
Im always happy when I'm with you

Recorded versions