"September Song" is an American standard

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

composed by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

with lyrics by

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

. It was introduced by

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

in the 1938

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

production ''

Knickerbocker Holiday ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' is a 1938 musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics); based loosely on Washington Irving's '' Knickerbocker's History of New York'' about life in 17th-century New Netherland (old New Y ...

.'' The song has been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists.

Origins

The song originated from Walter Huston's request that he should have one solo song in ''

'' if he was to play the role of the aged governor of New Netherland,

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Ne ...

. Anderson and Weill wrote the song in a couple of hours for Huston's gruff voice and limited vocal range. ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' was roughly based on

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's ''Knickerbocker's History of New York'' set in New Amsterdam in 1647. It is a political

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

criticizing the policies of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

through the portrayal of a semi–

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

government of New Amsterdam, with a corrupt governor and councilmen. It also involves a love triangle with a young woman forced to marry the governor Peter Stuyvesant while loving another. The musical closed in April 1939 after a six-month run.

Lyric content

In "September Song", a man now recognizes the "plentiful waste of time" of earlier days, and in the "long, long while from May to December", having reached September, he is looking forward to spending the precious days of autumn with his loved one.

Chart recordings

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

's 1946 version reached No.8 on the ''Billboard'' charts that year. * Ian McCulloch, of Echo & the Bunnymen, released a version of the song as his debut solo single (backed with a rendition of " Molly Malone") which reached number 51 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1984.

Use in other media

"September Song" was used as diegetic music in the 1950 film '' September Affair''. The song is used in the 1987

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

film ''

Radio Days ''Radio Days'' is a 1987 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, who also narrates the story. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story. ...

''; Allen has stated that the song may be the best American popular song ever written. Stig Björkman (ed.), ''Woody Allen on Woody Allen''. London: Faber and Faber, 1995, revised edition 2004, p. 160.

References

External links