Songs My Grandmother Sang

One of the songs my grandmother used to sing, according to my mother, was 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter',* something Fred E. Ahlert and Joe Young penned in 1935. First a big hit by Fats Waller in '35, it went even higher for the Boswell Sisters the next year. Bing and Sinatra sang it, too . .

I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
And make believe it came from you
I'm gonna write words, oh, so sweet
They're gonna knock me off my feet
Kisses on the bottom
I'll be glad I've got 'em.

I'm gonna smile and say "I hope you're feelin' better"
And sign "with love" the way you do
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
And make believe it came from you.

Point is, I woke up singing it this morning. Maybe 'cause they play it over the PA at the hippest place in town, yes, McDonald's where they do satellite radio--some sort of Oldies station (which I love every time I'm in there). Fred Ahlert wrote a couple other hits like: 'Mean to Me', 'Walkin' My Baby Back Home', 'Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)'.

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*Another was 'Goody Goody' (1936) by Johnny Mercer (which Ella did).