The last time I saw Paris (Hammerstein) (1941)

Dave Frishberg (b1933)

Another Song about Paris (1983)

The Last Time I saw Paris was not written for the 1954 film of the same name - Kern had been dead for nine years by then - nor even for Lady be Good, although it will always be associated with that film for Ann Sothern’s performance of it and for the Oscar it won an for Kern and Hammerstein in 1941. Hammerstein actually wrote the words in his sadness over the Occupation of Paris in 1940 and sent them to Kern who immediately set them to music. The song, which was dedicated to Noel Coward, was then incorporated in Lady be Good. Its history