Where or When
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| "Where or When" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Lettermen | ||||
| from the album A Lettermen Kind of Love | ||||
| B-side | "Be My Girl" | |||
| Released | 1963 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | |||
| The Lettermen singles chronology | ||||
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"Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. It also appeared in the movie of the same title two years later. Dion and the Belmonts also released a successful remake of the song, which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1960.
In 1963, The Lettermen released their version as a single, which peaked at #98 on the Hot 100.
Contents |
[edit] Recorded versions
[edit] Analysis of the lyrics
The lyrics of Where or When illustrate a memory anomaly known as déjà vu: [1] [2]
- "It seems we stood and talked like this before.
- We looked at each other in the same way then.
- But I can't remember where or when...
- Some things that happen for the first time
- Seem to be happening again."
Those who have not experienced déjà vu often misunderstand the words "Some things that happen for the first time..." and substitute "Some things that happened for the first time..." which changes the meaning to mere recall of past events. The song lyrics mean: Some things that are now happening for the first time and never happened before, now falsely seem to be happening again. But I can't remember where or when because they never happened until now.[3][4]
This song was used for the Frank Sinatra biopic Sinatra, which was made in 1992 and starred Philip Casnoff. A scene from the film shows him performing the song on stage at the Paramount Theatre.
[edit] External links
- Where Or When (film) film inspired by the song
[edit] References
- ^ Déjà Vu, left column, half way down
- ^ Déjà Vu, bottom of page 1
- ^ "The Meaning of Déjà Vu", Eli Marcovitz, M.D. (1952). Psychoanalytic Quarterly, vol. 21, pages: 481-489
- ^ The déjà vu experience, Alan S. Brown, Psychology Press, (2004), ISBN 0-203-48544-0, Introduction, page 1
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