The Smoke Between Us

Written for Song Lyric Sunday –
“Great American Songbook”

The Smoke Between Us

Maxie’s Diner never closed, which suited Eddie fine, since he had nowhere else to be at one in the morning. The checkerboard floor threw back the jukebox’s amber glow, but he’d left it silent tonight. Some songs a man doesn’t want to hear.

He turned the cigarette between two fingers before lifting it again, watching the thread of smoke climb toward the pressed-tin ceiling. Six months ago he’d have laughed if you told him this was where he’d end up. Six months ago he’d had Gloria on his arm and the whole world figured out.

His buddies had warned him. Told him over cards that a girl who packed a suitcase twice already wasn’t the settling kind. He’d waved them off, certain in the particular way only a man madly in love can be certain. She’d looked at him like he was the only steady thing in a spinning room. That was enough. That was everything.

Then, on an ordinary Wednesday, without a fight or a warning, she was gone. A note on the dresser, a ring left on the nightstand, and the taillights of a Greyhound bus he never saw pull away.

Eddie took a sip of coffee gone lukewarm and set it back in its saucer without tasting it. He watched the door she would never walk through again and thought about the friends who’d tried to tell him, and how sure he’d been that they were wrong.

The smoke drifted up past his face, catching the low light, and for a second his eyes stung sharp enough that he had to blink hard and look away. He told himself it was just the cigarette.

He’d told himself a lot of things lately.

In the corner, the jukebox stood silent and waiting, holding its songs for someone else.

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This week at Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has chosen the theme “Great American Songbook” in response to my suggestion. The Great American Songbook isn’t a book in a library or book store; rather, it’s an unofficial collection of the most influential and enduring popular songs and jazz standards written in the United States between the 1920s and the 1960s. These great songs are as popular today as they were more than half a century ago; the music simply transcends the era in which the songs were written. They are characterized by deft and witty lyrics that evoke the very idea of high-society sophistication. There was something about the early 20th Century …. the Jazz Age of the 20s, the Great Depression, the melancholy wartime years …. that conspired to create music that was truly uplifting and gloriously sentimental.

As you may have guessed by my opening story, my song choice this week is “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” …. a bittersweet reflection on heartbreak and the illusion of romance. The title’s core metaphor suggests that when you are deeply in love …. when your “heart is on fire” …. the passion and eventual heartbreak create an emotional “smoke” that clouds your vision, making you blind to reality. The singer reflects on how they initially knew their lover was “the one,” ignoring warnings from friends that “all who love are blind”. Confident, they laughed off the skepticism of others. Abruptly, the relationship falls apart. The singer is left alone as their true love flies away. Then the smoke metaphor kicks in …. when the flames of a beautiful romance die, the stinging tears and painful memories cloud your vision, causing you to hide your weeping behind a sad smile.

This beautiful song was made popular in 1958 by The Platters; however, that is not where the story begins. In 1933, the songwriting team of Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach wrote “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” for the Broadway musical, Roberta, a romantic comedy that explores the contrast between brash Americans and sophisticated Europeans. The plot follows John Kent (Ray Middleton), an all-American college athlete who travels to Paris with his friend Huck Haines (Bob Hope) and a jazz band. After failing to find a gig, John seeks out his Great-aunt Minnie, who owns a highly successful, exclusive fashion house under the business name “Roberta”. When Aunt Minnie suddenly passes away, John discovers he has inherited the salon. Completely out of his element as a dressmaker, he decides to partner with the shop’s talented chief assistant, Stephanie. Unbeknown to John, Stephanie is actually a Russian princess who fled her home country after the revolution. As the two work together to run the business and prepare for a major fashion show, they fall deeply in love. However, their romance is nearly derailed when John’s former college girlfriend, Sophie, arrives in Paris trying to win him back. Ultimately, the misunderstandings are cleared up, and John and Stephanie embrace their romance.

The Broadway show became a massive hit during the Great Depression largely due to its lavish costuming and an incredibly successful, enduring score. On December 22, 1934, an Australian production opened at His Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne; the cast featured Madge Elliot and Cyril Ritchard. The success of the stage musicals led to a highly popular 1935 RKO film adaptation, starring Irene Dunne (who sang “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”) as well as the legendary dance duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Let’s watch Fred & Ginger dance to an instrumental version of this week’s featured song.

While many jazz and pop artists covered “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” over the decades, the definitive version belongs The Platters, who transformed the original theatrical number into a slow, lush doo-wop ballad, featuring the fabulous Tony Williams on soaring lead vocals. This reinvented version was a massive hit, reaching #1 on both the US Billboard Pop and R&B charts in early 1959 as well as #1 on the UK Singles Chart.

“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” has spread far and wide through popular culture. It gets a mention in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. It was the title of the pilot episode of Mad Men in 2007, alluding to Lucky Strike cigarettes. Bill and I love The Platters’ version of this great song and it’s still a favorite of ours for a romantic slow dance. As beautiful a tune as has ever been written, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” will glimmer and smolder long after our dancing days are over.

This is “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by The Platters, from their album, Remember When?

Great American Songbook

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow his link and check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to some great music. I hope you enjoyed the theme for this week as well as the information and music I featured.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2026

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