| Tea for Two | |
| Cover: | Marion Harris–Tea For Two.jpg |
| Alt: | Record label for a 1924 recording by Marion Harris |
| Caption: | Record label of 1925 number one hit by Marion Harris[1] |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Marion Harris |
| B-Side: | The Blues Have Got Me |
| Written: | 1924 |
| Published: | Harms, Inc.[2] |
| Recorded: | [3] |
| Studio: | Brunswick Studios, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City |
| Genre: | Popular music, musical theater |
| Label: | Brunswick 2747 |
| Composer: | Vincent Youmans |
| Lyricist: | Irving Caesar |
"Tea for Two" is a 1924 song composed by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Irving Caesar.[4] [5] It was introduced in May 1924 by Phyllis Cleveland and John Barker during the Chicago pre-Broadway run of the musical No, No, Nanette.[6] When the show finally hit Broadway on September 16, 1925, Nanette was played by Louise Groody, and her duet with Barker of "Tea for Two" was a hit. The song went on to become the biggest success of Youmans' career.[7]
Youmans had written the basic melody idea of "Tea for Two" while he was in the navy during World War I, and he used it later on as an introductory passage for a song called "Who's Who with You?". While in Chicago, Youmans developed the idea into "a song that the hero could sing to the heroine" for the musical No, No, Nanette. He soon after played his composition for Irving Caesar and insisted he write the lyrics then and there. Caesar quickly jotted down a mock-up lyric, fully intending to revise it later on. Youmans, though, loved the mock-up and convinced Caesar it was just right for the melody.[8]
It has been proposed, with little supporting evidence, that the phrase 'Tea for Two' was originally shouted by hawkers on the streets of 18th century England who wanted to attract business by lowering the price of a pot of tea from thruppence (three pence) to tuppence (two pence). While this may be the case, 'tea for two' would have been a commonplace order for a couple in 19th-century English cafeterias.[9] [10]
The melody is rhythmically repetitive and is described as simple yet charming. The song is originally in the key of A major and starts with the verse, which is followed by the refrain.
The refrain has an A1-A2-A3-B form, a range of just over an octave, and major tonalities.[11] [12] The melody of the "A1", "A3", and "B" sections uses an alternating pattern of dotted quarter notes and eighth notes. The melody and harmony of the "A2" section is almost a copy of the "A1" section, but is transposed up a major third and uses a slightly embellished rhythm for the melody. The "A2" section ends by modulating back to the original key using an E whole note over an E7, the dominant chord of the original key. The melody and harmony of the "A3" section is a copy of the "A1" section, but ends on a different pitch and transitions to the "B" section using a iiø–V7–i. The first half of the melody of the "B" section uses two falling phrase segments with the same rhythm as the "A1" melody. The second half of the "B" section is the same as the second half of the "A1" section, but its melody ends on the root of the tonic chord instead of on its third.
The following artists covered the song: Benny Goodman (1937), Fats Waller (c. 1938–1939), Gene Krupa with Anita O'Day (c. 1942), Art Tatum, Stan Kenton with O'Day (1944–1945), Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore (1947), Doris Day (1955), Duke Ellington, appearing on a 1999 expanded version of Ellington at Newport (1956), Bud Powell, The Genius of Bud Powell (1956), Teddy Wilson (1956), Anita O'Day, Anita O'Day at Mister Kelly's (1959). Blossom Dearie recorded the song for her 1959 album Once Upon A Summertime.[15]