John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer (18 November 1909 – 25 June 1976) is regarded … Read Full Bio ↴John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer (18 November 1909 – 25 June 1976) is regarded as one of America's greatest songwriters. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations, and won four. Mercer was also a co-founder of Capitol Records.

Tangerine
Johnny Mercer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tangerine,
She is all they claim
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
Tangerine,
When she dances by
Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh
And I've seen
Toasts to Tangerine

Raised in every bar across the Argentine
Yes, she has them all on the run
But her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine

Tangerine,
She is all they say
With mascara'd eye and chapeaux by Dache.
Tangerine,
With her lips of flame
If the color keeps, Louis Philippe's to blame.
And I've seen
Clothes on Tangerine
Where the label says "From Macy's Mezzanine".
Yes, she's got the guys in a whirl

But she's only fooling one girl
She's only fooling Tangerine!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Johnny Mercer's song "Tangerine" describe the enchanting allure of a beautiful woman named Tangerine, who captures the attention and admiration of everyone around her. Her stunning eyes and bright lips draw the gaze of both women and men alike, leaving them entranced and sighing in admiration. She is so beautiful that toasts are raised to her in every bar in the Argentine.

However, the song reveals that Tangerine is not just a pretty face but also a fashion icon, with mascara'd eyes and chapeaux by Dache, a famous French milliner. She wears clothes with the label "From Macy's Mezzanine", which suggests that she has a keen sense of style and a taste for luxury. Despite her beauty and charm, Tangerine only has eyes for one person, and that person is herself. She may have the guys in a whirl, but she's only fooling one girl- Tangerine herself.

The song's repetition of Tangerine's name and the use of metaphors (such as Tangerine's lips as flames) create a vivid image of a woman who is both beautiful and elusive. The song portrays the idea that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and that one's perception of oneself is just as important as the admiration of others.

Line by Line Meaning

Tangerine,
The woman known as Tangerine

She is all they claim
Tangerine is exactly as magnificent as she is rumored to be

With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
Tangerine has dark, captivating eyes and red-hot lips

Tangerine,
Tangerine

When she dances by
Whenever Tangerine dances, people can't help but watch

Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh
Women and men are both equally captivated by Tangerine's beauty

And I've seen
The singer has witnessed

Toasts to Tangerine
People have made celebratory speeches in honor of Tangerine

Raised in every bar across the Argentine
This has happened in every bar in Argentina

Yes, she has them all on the run
Tangerine has everyone (presumably men) simultaneously interested in her

But her heart belongs to just one
Tangerine is in love with only one person

Her heart belongs to Tangerine
The person she loves is herself

Tangerine,
Tangerine

She is all they say
Tangerine truly is everything people say she is

With mascara'd eye and chapeaux by Dache.
Tangerine wears makeup and hats made by a well-known designer

Tangerine,
Tangerine

With her lips of flame
Her lipstick is bright red

If the color keeps, Louis Philippe's to blame.
If the lipstick does not wash off easily, it is the fault of Louis Philippe, the maker of the lipstick

And I've seen
The singer has seen

Clothes on Tangerine
Tangerine's clothing

Where the label says 'From Macy's Mezzanine'.
Her clothes come from a specific department within a store

Yes, she's got the guys in a whirl
Tangerine has made men extremely excited and dizzy with love

But she's only fooling one girl
Tangerine is only tricking herself

She's only fooling Tangerine!
Tangerine is misled by her own beauty

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, VICTOR SCHERTZINGER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@davidreyes7724

15w↑1

Just a terrific voice..

@robinbond7878

14w↑1

My mom used to sing this song along with many others.

@richard3523

1y↑5

This song was still popular when I was a little kid in the late 40s. I must have imprinted on it because I've heard it now and then over the years. It hits me in a way that feels like deja vous, or some kind of picture of the moment I first heard it. It feels warm, happy, and safe.

@MyJ2B

3y↑7

JM knows how to make lyrics fit the music, with right syllables etc. Thank you for posting.

@ElizabethPoet

3y↑1

Yes I am reading a biography of JM and the author at one point talks about his syllabic sensitivity.

@MyJ2B

@@ElizabethPoet That is interesting, Liz. It was just something that I noticed. Other lyricists seem to ignore the "rhythm" of the music and the lyrics begin to 'stumble'. Thank you for letting me know of his biobraphy. I will seacrh it out. Jerry from Canada.

@ElizabethPoet

@@MyJ2B I was trying to think of someone to send this biography to when I am done, almost done. If you send me your snail mail, postal, address I would be happy to mail it to you for your enjoyment.

@MyJ2B

@@ElizabethPoet I would be delighted to learn of Mercer - one of the best jazz lyricists. Contact me firts by EMail (j2b@uwo.ca) and I will provide you with my private snail mail details. Thank you !

@ElizabethPoet

Jerry Jazz I hope you get this message. I tried sending email to your email and got error message. Can you email me at liznakazawa@gmail.com? Then u can send snail mail there for me to send book.

1 More Replies...

@dickrobinson7114

23w↑1

My pops.

@4musikable

9y↑20

One of my favourite songs sung by one of my favourite composers of popular music. Thank you so much for the upload.

@jschlock448

4y↑4

Great song and arrangement!

@thebluehotel426

18w

Goosebumps

@Cloudsagain1

5y↑9

This sweet song is mentionned in Ray Bradbury's short story "Tangerine" (indeed!) in the short stories' collection :"One more for the road".

@francoderico1877

Sonny sang this

@richard3523

I'd forgotten this song. I listened to it when I was a little boy. As soon as I heard the first few notes I was swept back to my boyhood. Just a few notes did it, hard to believe.

@enrkaton82

33w↑1

Ray Bradbury brought me here too

@minimum20mins

1y↑1

Excellent ! thanks

@HunterMann

8y↑6

Sweet tune!

@ramonrodriguez3274

4y↑3

Bellas canción una de mi favoritas

@kevinshea8937

3y↑2

What's old is new again!

@kimdang2212

7y↑7

Love this song. First time I've heard. Marvelous! Thank you. Your fan. xox

@TheDejael

9y↑7

This song was popular for more than 20 years in the pop-jazz world, from lounge lizard singers to easy-listening stereo orchestral LPs of the 1960s.

@lorettasteele2967

Dejael Long

@TheDejael

7y↑2

Same for other pop-jazz standards like "Poinciana" and "Temptation".

@Matt571

6y↑2

The song even appeared in a British kids' comedy series called Rentaghost in the early 80s when it was performed at a roller disco

@MikeBozart

8y↑7

a great version. 5 stars.

@r1ver111

6y↑4

I just started playing Alto Sax and I’m trying to learn this. It’s so beautiful :0

@kimdang2212

7y↑3

Marvelous! Thank you. Your fans. xox

@rafachrzaszcz6997

5y↑11

This sounds like late 1960s

@stephaniehand9519

6y↑2

wonderful

@lisabehe4546

2y↑1

This is a fun version, very different from the Jimmy Dorsey hit, which is one of my favorites

@davideulivi1726

7y↑3

great!!!

@TyJeffriesComposerLyricist

6y↑2

Who did the wonderful arrangement? Sounds very Burt!

@jonesparza8806

6y↑7

whoa! is that an Electric Piano in 1942??

@supertrinigamer

3y↑4

WOW. Are you sure this is the 1941 version? That synth keyboard certainly can't be from 1941.

@InfamousMisterE

I had to look it up myself, The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941

@thingsthathappenedtomymoth2816

Johnny Mercer died in 1976. He co-wrote the song for the 1942 movie THE FLEET’S IN. He sang his songs many times. This is a recording from late in his life. Sinatra did a hit version in the early sixties. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass covered it in 1965 on WHIPPED CREAM & OTHER DELIGHTS.

@Marcel_Audubon

2y↑1

@@InfamousMisterE the original 1941 lyrics were different - the line about toasts to Tangerine said something about the bourgeoisie. It was changed because too many rubes didn't know what that meant.
Although I like the replacement line about toasts to Tangerine being raised in every bar across the Argentine, the change lost the original meaning that Tangerine was a phony and weakened the song. Lyrics about her lipstick being by Louis Phillippe (a drugstore lipstick) and wearing clothes from Macy's Mezzanine (Macy's was and is a low end department store for hicks) are no longer anchored.
Here we have the lyricist himself singing the changed lyrics, so I'm guessing this is not 1941.

@ComradeGabroo

7y↑4

this was the haunting theme for the murder noir "Double Indemnity" as well.
Phyllis and jack im glad you didn't get away with it,..you would've killed each other iside of a month anyway. THOUGH ITwas horribly beautiful the way that you shot each other to pieces when the passion and lust died,nevertheless,...her's to phyliss and jack too small time, little people who were desperate byond the minds comprehension to be somwhere other than california,..somewhere much closer to freedom and freedom their way,on a train perhaps going around and back ahead and back around,..poor kids,-baby

@___Mal

5y↑1

Great movie

@patriciagiles5833

7y↑12

I got here from the name on a can of orange paint.

@JerryWasARaceCarDriver

7y↑5

This sounds like it was recorded in the 70's. When was this recorded, who is singing? Cant be from 1941.

@dennistravers8392

6y↑1

They may have electronically isolated the voice alone on tape, and then played an updated (yeah; like 70s) instrumental line. Sure sounds EXACTLY like Mr. Mercer. What a genius!