Today’s classic song of the day comes to us from the musical, The Fantasticks. “Try to Remember” was the first song performed in the show, designed to encourage the audience to imagine the settings suggested by the sparse set.
Like all the music in The Fantasticks, the lyrics to “Try to Remember” were written by Tom Jones (not that one) and the music by Harvey Schmidt. In the original off-Broadway run, in 1960, “Try to Remember” was sung by Broadway legend Jerry Orbach, who played the narrator, El Gallo.
“Try to Remember” was so memorable that many artists took a turn recording it, and there were actually three versions that made the Billboard Hot 100. Singer Ed Ames’ version was the first and the highest-charting; released in January of 1965, it peaked at #73. Pianist Roger Williams released a mainly instrumental version of the song in April of 1965, which peaked at #97. And the folk quartet The Brothers Four released their version in November of 1965, which peaked at #91.
The lyrics are nostalgic and sentimental and take on greater meaning the older we all get. Here they are, in their entirety:
Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September when grass was green and grain was yellow
Try to remember the kind of September when you were a tender and callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember then followTry to remember when life was so tender that no one wept except the willow
Try to remember when life was so tender that dreams were kept beside your pillow
Try to remember when life was so tender that love was an ember about to billow
Try to remember and if you remember then followDeep in December it’s nice to remember although you know the snow will follow
Deep in December it’s nice to remember without the hurt the heart is hollow
Deep in December it’s nice to remember the fire of September that made us mellow
Deep in December our hearts should remember and follow
The Fantasticks was based on the 1894 play, Les Romanesques, and was about two fathers who pretend to feud in order to trick their children into falling in love. It opened off-Broadway at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village on May 3, 1960 and ran for 17,162 performances, closing on January 13, 2002. In addition to Mr. Orbach, many notable actors appeared in the production over the years, including F. Murray Abraham, Kristin Chenoweth, Glenn Close, Bert Convy, Elliott Gould, and Liza Minnelli.
In addition to its many professional productions, The Fantasticks has become a favorite of school and community theater groups, thanks in part for its modest production needs. You’ve probably seen it; it is timeless.
