WHEN I'M NOT NEAR THE GIRL I LOVE
From the Broadway Show "Finian's Rainbow" (1947)
(E.Y. "Yip" Harburg / Burton Lane)

David Wayne Broadway Production) - 1947
Jimmy Blair - 1951
Percy Faith & His Orch. - 1951
Howard Morris (Broadway Revival) - 1960
Frank Sinatra - 1963
Tommy Steele (Film Soundtrack) - 1968
Stan Kenton & His Orch. - 1968
Herschel Bernardi - 1970
Phillip Officer - 1995
Holly Near & Ronnie Gilbert - 1996
Malcolm Gets (Off-Broadway Concert) - 2004

Also recorded by:
Dick Haymes; Jack Jones; André Previn; Steve Clayton;
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg; Hampton Hawes; André Kostelanetz;
Benjamin Sears & Bradford Connor.



Oh my heart is beating wildly
And it's all because you're here
When I'm not near the girl I love
I love the girl I'm near
Ev'ry femme that flutters by me
Is a flame that must be fanned
When I can't fondle the hand I'm fond of
I fondle the hand at hand
My heart's in a pickle
It's constantly fickle
And not too partickle, I fear
When I'm not near the girl I love
I love the girl I'm near

I'm confessing a confession
And I hope I'm not verbose
When I'm not close to the kiss that I cling to
I cling to the kiss that's close
As I'm more and more a mortal
I am more and more a case
When I'm not facing the face that I fancy
I fancy the face I face
For Sharon I'm carin'
But Susan I'm choosin'
I'm faithful to whos'n is here
When I'm not near the girl I love
I love the girl I'm near


(Contributed by Ferda Dolunay - April 2006)


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As recorded by FRANK SINATRA:


Oh my heart is beating wildly
And it's all because you're here
When I'm not near the girl I love
I love the girl I'm near
Ev'ry femme that flutters by me
Is a flame that must be fanned
When I can't fondle the hand I'm fond of
I fondle the hand at hand
My heart's in a pickle
It's constantly fickle
And not too partickle, I fear
When I'm not near the girl I love
I love the girl I'm near

What if they're tall or tender
What if they're small or slender
Long as they've got that gender
I surrender

Always I can't refuse 'em
Always my feet pursue them
Long as they've got a booo-som
I woos 'em

As I'm more and more a mortal
I am more and more a case
When I'm not facing the face that I fancy
I fancy the face I face
For Sharon I'm carin'
But Susan I'm choosin'
I'm faithful to whos'n is here
When I'm not near the girl I love
I love the girl I'm near


(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - April 2006)


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