I Can't Get Started
"I Can't Get Started," also known as "I Can't Get Started with You," is a jazz standard composed in 1936 with music by Vernon Duke and lyrics by Ira Gershwin.[1] The song was first performed on January 30, 1936, by Bob Hope in the Broadway revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, where Hope sang it to Eve Arden.[2] Its first recording came shortly before, on January 18, 1936, by Hal Kemp and His Orchestra with vocal chorus by Skinnay Ennis.[2] The plaintive ballad depicts a man who has achieved great fame and fortune—flying to Moscow, boxing with the Prince of Wales, and even advising the King of Siam—yet remains unable to win the affection of the woman he loves.[1] Despite modest initial sheet music sales, the song gained prominence through jazz interpretations, particularly Bunny Berigan's 1937 recording with his orchestra, which featured Berigan's trumpet solo and reached number 10 on the charts, becoming his lifelong theme.[1] This version was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975.[3] Over the decades, "I Can't Get Started" has been recorded more than 650 times, spanning jazz, pop, and big band genres.[2] Notable early covers include Billie Holiday's 1938 rendition with her orchestra and instrumental versions by Lester Young and Charlie Parker in the 1940s.[2] Later artists such as Dizzy Gillespie (1946 and 1963), Frank Sinatra (1959), Ella Fitzgerald, and Stan Getz (1973) further cemented its status as an enduring standard.[2] The song has appeared in films like The Gene Krupa Story (1959) and continues to be performed by contemporary musicians, including Karl-Martin Almqvist and Carl Winther in 2024.[1][2]Origins
Composition
"I Can't Get Started" was composed by Vernon Duke in 1936, with the music originating as a melody initially titled "Face the Music with Me," which had been created earlier with lyrics by Duke himself but lacked fitting words and remained unused.[4] Duke, a Russian-born American composer known for blending classical influences with popular song forms, offered the tune to lyricist Ira Gershwin after it failed to gain traction in prior attempts.[4] Ira Gershwin completed the lyrics in early 1936, infusing the song with themes of ironic success—such as flying around the world or settling revolutions—juxtaposed against personal romantic frustration, creating a narrative of worldly achievements that pale in comparison to unrequited love.[1] This approach drew from Gershwin's signature style of sophisticated wordplay, transforming Duke's melodic line into a poignant yet humorous reflection on inadequacy.[1] Published by Chappell & Co. later that year, the song appeared under its full title, "I Can't Get Started (with You)," marking a key addition to the American songbook.[4]Debut
"I Can't Get Started" premiered as part of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, a Broadway revue that opened on January 30, 1936, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City.[5] The production, featuring a mix of sketches, musical numbers, and dance routines typical of the Ziegfeld Follies format, showcased the song in its second act as a lighthearted novelty piece amid the revue's variety entertainment.[6] The song was performed by comedian Bob Hope, who sang it directly to actress Eve Arden, highlighting their comedic interplay in a staged romantic scenario.[1] This appearance marked an early significant role for Hope in musical theater, following his prior Broadway stints and helping to establish his stage presence before his rise in radio and film.[7] Written by composer Vernon Duke with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, the number fit seamlessly into the Follies' tradition of blending humor with sophisticated songcraft.[8] The revue received mixed reviews, with critics praising standout musical moments while critiquing the overall production's uneven sketches and staging.[9] Despite the acclaim for its songs, the show ran for 115 performances before closing on May 9, 1936, reflecting the challenges of sustaining audience interest in a revue format during the Great Depression era.[5] The production later reopened in September 1936 with revisions, but the initial run captured the song's debut in a quintessential Broadway spectacle.[10]Content and Structure
Lyrics
"I Can't Get Started," with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and music by Vernon Duke, follows a verse-chorus structure typical of 1930s popular songs, where the verse sets up the narrator's emotional state and the chorus enumerates his ironic accomplishments in an AABA lyrical pattern that builds rhythmic repetition for emphasis.[1] The AABA form in the chorus reinforces the narrator's futile seduction attempts through parallel phrasing in the A sections—listing feats like global travel and political influence—contrasted by the B section's bridge, which heightens the romantic despair with lines about shouting the beloved's name into the Grand Canyon.[1] The song's central themes revolve around the paradox of celebrity and unrequited love, humorously juxtaposing the narrator's worldly successes against his personal romantic failure, a motif Gershwin employs to satirize 1930s fame culture.[1] Through sophisticated rhyme schemes—such as internal rhymes in "unattainable" paired with "explainable" and multisyllabic matches like "revolutions in Spain" with "chart the North Pole"—Gershwin infuses wit and elegance, underscoring the absurdity of the narrator's plight without descending into sentimentality.[11] This humor arises from the ironic contrast: the narrator boasts of Lindbergh-esque aviation feats and elite social encounters, yet remains stymied in love, highlighting the emptiness of achievement absent emotional connection.[1] A breakdown of the lyrics reveals this dynamic in detail. The opening verse establishes the narrator's melancholy:I'm a glum one, it's explainableHere, Gershwin uses playful slang like "lug without a rug" (implying a down-on-his-luck fellow without means or charm) to convey dejection lightly. The chorus then pivots to the achievements:
I met someone unattainable
Life's a bore, the world is my oyster no more
Now I'm a lug without a rug,
I can't get started with you[11]
I've flown around the world in a plane (alluding to aviation feats of the era, such as Wiley Post's solo circumnavigation in 1933)This section exemplifies the celebrity paradox, with feats of exploration and influence rendered meaningless by romantic rejection, amplified by the humorous image of yelling into the canyon. A second chorus variation adds further 1930s cultural nods:
I've settled revolutions in Spain (referencing the turbulent Spanish politics of the mid-1930s)
The North Pole I have charted
But I can't get started with you And on the brink of the Grand Canyon
I shouted her name at the bottom
But nothing happened, I I've consulted with Franklin D. (President Franklin D. Roosevelt, evoking New Deal-era advisory roles)
But what good does it do me?
I can't get started with you[12][1]
In nineteen twenty-nine I sold short (a stock market reference to profiting from the Wall Street Crash)Gershwin's rhyme scheme in these lines—short/court/started—maintains momentum while tying economic savvy and aristocratic encounters to the persistent theme of amorous futility, culminating in the repeated refrain that encapsulates the song's wry emotional core.[11]
In England I'm presented at court (meeting the Prince of Wales, then Edward VIII, symbolizing royal access)
But you've got me downhearted
'Cause I can't get started with you[12][1]