| When I Lost You | |
|---|---|
| Ballad by Irving Berlin | |
 Cover page to the sheet music. | |
| Written | 1912 |
| Publisher | Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc. |
"When I Lost You" is a song with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It was written in 1912 after his wife of five months, the former Dorothy Goetz, died of typhoid fever. In it he poured out the grief of his loss; it was the only song that he ever admitted had such a connection to his own life.[1] The song, a ballad, was unlike any of Berlin's previous songs, which were upbeat tunes written to take advantage of the dance craze. The song is in a slow waltz tempo. It became Berlin's first hit ballad.[2]
Berlin had published 130 songs by this point, none of which previously had revealed his ability to write with moving sentiment about his own personal pain.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bergreenwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Furia, Philip (1990). The Poets of Tin Pan Alley:A History of America's Great Lyricists. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 0-19-506408-9.
- ^ Wilder, Alec (1990). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900-1950. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 96. ISBN 0-19-501445-6.