THE SPACE ALIEN ENJOYS A 1940s POPULAR SONG BASED ON A CLASSICAL THEME

The Space Alien wrote about this earlier but found more information about the wonderful popular 1940 song "June on the Isle of May" (popularized by Connee Boswell).  

The Space Alien noted that the melody of this song is based on the famous Andante cantabile movement from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11.[1, 2]

Here is more about that.  Tchaikovsky composed the quartet in 1871, and the melody for the Andante cantabile was originally adapted from a Ukrainian folk song he heard a gardener sing near Kamianka. [1] (Click on these numbers for the sources.)

You can listen to the original classical composition on Spotify or read about its historical background on Wikipedia. [1, 2]

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More Notes:

The song features lyrics by Mack David and was popularized in 1940 by jazz singers like Connee Boswell. 

To hear how Tchaikovsky's 19th-century classical theme was transformed into a 1940s vocal pop standard you can sing these words!

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On The Isle Of May Lyrics

We strolled along

Through the heavens

And it was June

June on the Isle of May

Your lips were sweet

As the heaven

Love was in bloom

There on the Isle of May

Close in your arms

Heaven opened its doors

Then like a fool

I sailed away

But our love

Will bring us together

When it is June

June on the Isle of May

Close in your arms

Heaven opened its doors

Then like a fool

I sailed away

But our love

Will bring us together

When it is June

June on the Isle of May

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