The Sunshine of Your Smile

Original sheet music from 1913

"The Sunshine of Your Smile" is a British popular song published in London in 1913 just before the First World War by Francis, Day and Hunter. The lyrics were by and the music by .^[1] It became a top ten hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1980, sung by Mike Berry.

Lyrics[]

The following lyrics are taken from the sheet music published in 1913:^[1]^[2]

Verse 1:

Dear face that holds so sweet a smile for me,

Were you not mine, how dark the world would be!

I know no light above that could replace

Love's radiant sunshine in your dear, dear face.

Refrain:

Give me your smile, the love-light in your eyes,

Life could not hold a fairer Paradise!

Give me the right to love you all the while,

My world for ever, the sunshine of your smile!

Verse 2:

Shadows may fall upon the land and sea,

Sunshine from all the world may hidden be;

But I shall see no cloud across the sun;

Your smile shall light my life, till life is done!

Refrain:

Give me your smile, the love-light in your eyes,

Life could not hold a fairer Paradise!

Give me the right to love you all the while,

My world for ever, the sunshine of your smile!

Recordings[]

Below is a list of artists who have recorded the song and the recording date and record information (where known):

Olga, Elga and Eli Hudson, 1914^[3]
Fred Douglas, 1914^[3]
Ernest Pike, 1914^[3]
Jessie Broughton, c. 1915^{[citation needed]}
William Thomas, c. 1915, Regal G6745
Gertie Dickeson, 1915^[3]
Lambert Murphy, 1916, Victor 55069
John McCormack, 1916,^[4] Victor 64622
Norah Johnson, 1916^[3]
Riccardo Stracciari, 1919, Columbia 49590
Tamaki Miura, 1922, Nipponophone 15065
Charles Hackett, 1927, Columbia 4042
Tito Schipa, 1930, Victor 1451 (Sung in Spanish)
Jussi Björling, 1931, Swedish HMV X3724^[5] (Sung in Swedish)
Django Reinhardt & Le Quintette du Hot Club De France, April 1935
Lilian Davies, 1930^[3]
Frank Sinatra, 1941,^{[citation needed]} Victor 27638
James Melton, 1950^{[citation needed]}
Mike Berry, 1980

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "The Sunshine of Your Smile", Sheet music, Francis, Day & Hunter, 1915.
^ Copyright Status: Leonard Cooke died on 25 May 1919, so the lyrics included in this article have been out of copyright in the UK since: 1 Jan 1990
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music. Accessed 27 Apr 2013
^ Tyler, Don (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. p. 88. ISBN 978-0786429462. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
^ Chronological list of Jussi Björling's recordings

[SHEET-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "The Sunshine of Your Smile", Sheet music, Francis, Day & Hunter, 1915.

[COOKE-2] Copyright Status: Leonard Cooke died on 25 May 1919, so the lyrics included in this article have been out of copyright in the UK since: 1 Jan 1990

[CHARM-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music. Accessed 27 Apr 2013

[4] Tyler, Don (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. p. 88. ISBN 978-0786429462. Retrieved 12 June 2015.

[5] Chronological list of Jussi Björling's recordings

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