There's a tear in your eye,
and I'm wondering why,
for it never should be there at all.
With such pow'r in your smile,
sure a stone you'd beguile,
so there's never a teardrop should fall.
When your sweet lilting laughter's
like some fairy song,
and your eyes twinkle bright as can be,
you should laugh all the while
and all other times smile,
and now smile a smile for me.
When Irish eyes are smiling,
sure, it's like a morn in spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter,
you can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
all the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
sure, they steal your heart away. . . .
John McCormack, tenor. Victor, recorded in Camden, Sept. 20, 1916
by Ken
In Friday night's preview we heard just the first verse, leading up to but stopping at, the first chorus of John McCormack's astonishing 1916 recording of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," one of four Irish songs included on the LP side devoted to McCormack in the c1960 RCA Victor anthology Ten Great Singers. (We'll hear the other three in a moment.)
SUPERSCHMOOZER FRANCIS ROBINSON ON McCORMACK
The Ten Great Singers set was accompanied by a booklet with essays on each singer by longtime Met Assistant Manager Francis Robinson, one of the opera world's most tireless and natty schmoozers. Here's what he had to say about McCormack:
