Porter, Cole. (1891–1964)

"At Long Last Love" - Autograph Working Lyrics

Handwritten working lyrics manuscript, in pencil, to ‘At Long Last Love,’ for the 1938 musical You Never Know, written on the reverse of an 8.25 x 10.25 off-white sheet of S. S. Normandie stationery. Porter writes the song title at the top, along with “3rd refrain,” and “Save.” The nine lines of lyrics include two lines which did not appear in the final version and read, in part: “Is it a break down or is it a break? / Is it a Raphael or only a fake? / What can account for these strange pittapats / Could this be the dream, the cream, the cat’s?” In fine condition.

‘At Long Last Love’ first appeared in Porter's musical "You Never Know." The show was written not long after the riding accident that left Porter semi-crippled and was one of the flops he wrote before his return to prominence with Kiss Me, Kate. Porter wrote that "When this horse fell on me, I was too stunned to be conscious of great pain, but until help came I worked on the lyrics for a song called At Long Last Love." This song went on to be performed by many different entertainers, including Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra and became something of a classic. "This Clifton Webb-Lupe Velez duet was the most widely acclaimed song in the show. After the enthusiastic reception of the song in New Haven and Boston, Cole added the encore refrains..." (Robert Kimball, "Cole," p. 150)

Autograph lyrics of the American composer and songwriter are exceedingly rare. (10865)

Manuscript Music Song