This week we’re featuring songs that my parents liked and today’s classic song that my parents liked of the day is “My Cup Runneth Over” by Ed Ames. This broad Broadway ballad was a real anomaly on the pop charts when it was released in early 1967, the year of the Summer of Love. That didn’t stop it from finding an appreciative audience, however; the song went all the way to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, for Record of the Year and Song of the Year (losing both to the 5th Dimension’s “Up Up and Away”).
“My Cup Runneth Over” was written by Broadway pros Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones for the musical I Do! I Do! That musical debuted on December 15, 1966, at the 46th Street Theater and ran until June 15, 1968, for a total of 560 performances. It was a two-character play about the life of a married couple from newlyweds to empty nesters, originally starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston, who won a Best Actor Tony for his role. It was also nominated for Best Musical, Best Lyricist and Composer, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Scenic Design, and Best Costume Design.
The song in question originally came in the middle of the play’s first act, with the couple expecting their first child. It was later moved near the beginning of the second act, with the couple older and wiser. Wherever it’s slotted, “My Cup Runneth Over” is a song about a husband and wife ruminating on how much they love each other and their life together:
Sometimes in the morning when shadows are deep
I lie here beside you
Just watching you sleep
And sometimes I whisper
What I’m thinking of
My cup runneth over with love
Sometimes in the evening when you do not see
I study the small things you do constantly
I memorize moments that I’m fondest of
My cup runneth over with love
In only a moment we both will be old
We won’t even notice the world turning cold
And so, in this moment with sunlight above
My cup runneth over with love
It’s hard not to like “My Cup Runneth Over.” It is brimming with emotion that means even more the older you get and the colder the world gets. I’m sure it was a show stopper on Broadway, and it’s not surprising that Ed Ames, a robust baritone, decided to record it. It’s also not surprising that it was so popular, standing out in all its well-crafted glory among the rock and pop songs of the day. (The week “My Cup Runneth Over” peaked—March 25, 1967—the other songs in the top ten included the Turtles’ “Happy Together,” the Mamas & the Papas’ “Dedicated to the One I Love,” the Beatles’ “Penny Lane,” the Supremes’ “Love is Here and Now You’re Gone,” and the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday.”)
So, for your daily bonus, here’s Ed Ames, in all his tuxedoed glory, singing “My Cup Runneth Over” on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 24, 1967. My mom really liked it—and I guess I do, too.
