Music Blog

Who The Hell Was Bessie?

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Today at Song Lyric Sunday, Jim has asked us to choose
a song that begins with the same letter as our first name.
For me that would be the letter N. Here is my song.

L-R Nancy Sinatra Jr, Frank Sinatra Sr, Nancy Sinatra Sr,
Frank Sinatra Jr; in front Tina Sinatra, 1948

When I say “here is my song”  I really mean MY song. From the time I was a baby and able to understand a few words, this song was special to me. As I got older it became even more special … particularly when my dad would sing it. There are a lot of memories attached to this song; I honestly thought it was written for me and that Frank Sinatra was singing it directly to me. You may recall from another of my posts that my dad hated Sinatra; this may be the only song by Frank that Dad liked. My sister Rosemarie really hated my song because she didn’t like any of HER songs; she’d whine that her songs weren’t as pretty and personal as mine and she’d get annoyed every time it was played. But the thing she hated the most was the line “sorry for you, she has no sister”! I guess I can’t blame her for that!

Have you figured out what my song is? Since it was made popular by Frank Sinatra most people wrongly assumed the song was composed specifically for his daughter. Well, that was a pretty big clue so you must know the answer by now! My song choice for today’s Song Lyric Sunday is “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)”.

The music for the song was composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by comedian/lyricist Phil Silvers; it was originally called “Bessie (With the Laughing Face)”. Bessie? Who the hell was Bessie? Well, back in 1942 there was a famous lyricist named Johnny Burke who was married to our mysterious Bessie. Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers wrote the song for their friend Johnny Burke as a surprise for his wife Bessie’s birthday.

All the women at Bessie Burke’s birthday party loved the song so much, they started requesting that it be sung at their parties as well. Apparently Frank Sinatra wasn’t at any of those parties because when his friends Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers sang the song as “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)” at little Nancy Sinatra’s birthday party, Frank broke down and cried, thinking it had been written especially for his daughter! Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers wisely didn’t correct him.

In 1944, Frank Sinatra recorded the song as “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)” and it became a fan favorite. When I was born several years later, the song became a favorite in our house as well.

This is “Nancy” by Frank Sinatra

Lyrics

If I don’t see her each day, I miss her
Gee, what a thrill each time I kiss her
Believe me, I’ve got a case
On Nancy with the laughin’ face
She takes the winter and makes it summer
But summer could take some lessons from her
Picture a tomboy in lace
That’s Nancy with the laughin’ face
Did you ever hear mission bells ringin’?
Well, she’ll give you the very same glow
When she speaks you would think it was singin’
Just hear her say hello
I swear to goodness you can’t resist her
Sorry for you, she has no sister
No angel could replace
Nancy with the laughin’ face

Keep Betty Grable, Lamour and Turner
She makes my heart a charcoal burner
It’s heaven when I embrace
My Nancy with the laughin’ face

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jimmy Van Heusen/Phil Silvers
Nancy lyrics © Barton Music Corporation, Imagem U.S. LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Given Names

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

47 thoughts on “Who The Hell Was Bessie?”

  1. Pingback: The Name Game – The Elephant's Trunk

  3. That’s Nancy with the laughing face. Of course it is YOUR song. Wow! I never heard this song before. Thanks for sharing.

    My two friends from the former Yugoslavia both told me separately about a lovely song about Selma. Before them I never knew there existed such a song. So yeah. I too have a song 😆
    Bless you. Stay in the shade.

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  4. I’ve never heard Nancy but how cool is that to have a song after you. No wonder your sister hated it.. lol How could we blame her. ““sorry for you, she has no sister”! I guess I can’t blame her for that!” “makes my heart a charcol burner” .. now that’s a metaphor after the heat yesterday!❣️😂

    💗

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  8. How can I not know this song?

    I would not put it in my top-five Sinatra songs, but then, my name isn’t Nancy so… yanno 😉

    He did have a marvellous voice, didn’t he?

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    1. Well, it’s from a certain generation so unless someone is a Sinatra collector, they probably won’t know it. I’m sure it got airplay for a few years, then became rather obscure; it’s on a number of his albums and some standards channels on SiriusXM but it’s hardly ever played anymore. And yes, he did have a truly marvelous voice.

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                  1. Haha! There ya go… Roy Rogers and Dale Evans… Yep. Birth name. We don’t lose our name through marriage in Quebec. Matter of fact, we are not allowed to take our husband’s name!

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  9. I never knew Phil Silvers wrote the lyrics to this song. After years of seeing him in movies and as Sgt. Bilko, I never would have thought this was something he could do. Hat’s off to him! I really liked this blog because this is probably my favorite era of music. And one of my earliest memories is my parent’s album collection which was heavy on Sinatra and my sitting in the basement and singing along.

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    1. Oh, I just love knowing that! As my/our generation starts to die off, so will the number of people who know and love this era of music. I’ve always been a fan and heavy into Sinatra. I remember visiting my mother in the nursing home and going to the music room for concerts … usually a volunteer with a tape recorder singing the standards. My mother’s friends were shocked to hear me singing along to the songs; I’m sure I know the words to more standards than pop/rock songs, except for the Beatles. I was as surprised as you to see that Phil Silvers was also a lyricist. People might be surprised to know that Charlie Chaplin wrote a few popular songs too.

      Thanks for your great comment; nice to hear from you!

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    1. I’m not terribly surprised, Christine. It’s from a definite generation and it’s a song that’s really never played except on certain channels on SiriusXM. I highlighted a few names in the lyrics which I sure many readers won’t recognize and may want to check out.

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a lovely comment. I’m glad you liked the song.

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