SERENADE (aka "Moonlight Serenade")
As recorded by Mario Lanza for the 1954 film "The Student Prince"
(Sigmund Romberg / Dorothy Donnelly / Nicholas Brodszky / Paul Francis Webster)
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming
Could I hear this song forever
Calling to my heart anew, my Darling
While I drift along forever
Lost in a dream of you
I hear your voice in the wind that stirs the willows
I see your face in the stars that shine above
(Hold me closer, tonight we love)
The willows bending, the stars that shine
The shore lights blending, they're yours and mine
Drifting along, in my heart there's a song
And the song in my heart will not fade
Oh, hear my serenade, my moonlight serenade
(Love me)
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming
Could this beauty last forever
I would ask for nothing more, believe me
Let this night but live forever
Forever and ever more
(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - January 2006)
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SERENADE (OVERHEAD THE MOON IS BEAMING)
From the Broadway Operetta "The Student Prince" (1924)
(Sigmund Romberg / Dorothy Donnelly)
Howard Marsh (Broadway Production) - 1924
Frank Hornaday, Roy Barnes, Daniel De Paolo, James Wharton & Chorus (Broadway Revival) - 1943
Roy Barnes & Chorus – (Broadway Revival) - 1943
Nelson Eddy & Rise Stevens – 1947
Glenn Burris - 1948
Lauritz Melchior & Male Chorus - 1950
Earl Wrightson - 1951
Mario Lanza (Film Soundtrack) - 1952
Robert Rounseville – 1952
Gordon McRae – 1953
Mario Lanza -1954
Percy Faith & His Orch. (vocal: Earl Wrightson) – 1959
John Wakefield - 1961
Frankie Laine - 1963
Jan Peerce - 1965
David Rendall, Bonaventura Bottone, Leon Greene, David Maxwell, Neil Jenkins & Norman Bailey - 1989
Jerry Hadley - 1993
Also recorded by:
John Hanson; Dennis Day; Richard Tauber; Richard Crooks;
Tito Beltran; Mantovani Orch; ........... and others.
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming
Would my heart but still it's beating
Only you can tell it how, beloved
From your window give me greeting
Hear my eternal vow
Soft in the trees lies the echo of my longing
While all around you my dreams of rapture throng
My soul, my joy, my hope, my fear
Your heart must tell you that I am near
List from above while I pour out my love
For you know through my life you are love'd
Oh, hear my longing cry, oh, love me or I die
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming
Would my heart but still it's beating
Only you can tell it how, beloved
From your window give me greeting
I swear my eternal love
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LYRIC VARIATION:
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming
Could my heart but still it's beating
Only you can tell it how, beloved
From your window give me greeting
Hear my eternal vow
Soft in the trees sighs the echo of my longing
While all around you my dreams of rapture throng
(Visions glowing around me thronging)
My soul, my joy, my hope, my fear
Your heart must tell you that I am near
Lean from above while I pour out my love
For you know through my life you are love'd
Oh, hear my longing cry, oh, love me or I die
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming
Could my heart but still it's beating
Only you can tell it how, beloved
From your window give me greeting
I swear my eternal love
(Contributed by Ferda Dolunay - January 2006)
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TRIVIA: Based upon the original play "Alt Heidelberg" by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster,
and the English translation, "Old Heidelberg" by Rudolf Bleichman , this story is
sometimes known as "The Student Prince In Old Heidelberg", as was the silent
1927 film version of the story.
