Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was best known as an American… Read Full Bio ↴Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was best known as an American composer of short, light concert music pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."

Blue Tango
Leroy Anderson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here am I with you in a world of blue
And we're dancing to the tango we loved when first we met
While the music plays, we recall the days
When our love was a tune that we couldn't soon forget
As I kiss your cheek, we don't have to speak
The violins, like a choir, express the desire
We used to know not long ago
So just hold me tight in your arms tonight

Overall Meaning

Leroy Anderson's song Blue Tango is a love song that speaks about a couple who dance to their favorite tune from when they first met. The lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia as the couple remembers the days when their love was new and exciting, and they couldn't forget the tune that brought them together. As they dance to the tango, they are transported back in time to those days when they fell in love.

The violins take center stage in this song, playing an important role in expressing the desire that the couple used to know not so long ago. The music itself is a representation of the passion and intimacy that the couple shares. As they hold each other tight, they are lost in the bliss of each other's company, and they don't need words to express their love.

Blue Tango has become an iconic song over the years, and it remains a beloved classic even today. The song's popularity can be attributed to its catchy melody, romantic lyrics, and the undeniable charm of the tango. The song has been covered by various artists over the years, and it has been used in movies, TV shows, and commercials. It has also inspired countless dancers to showcase their skills on the dance floor.

Line by Line Meaning

Here am I with you in a world of blue
I am with you in a melancholic state

And we're dancing to the tango we loved when first we met
We are dancing to the tango that reminds us of the time when we first fell in love

While the music plays, we recall the days
As we listen to the music, we remember the past

When our love was a tune that we couldn't soon forget
Our love was so unforgettable that it became like a tune that we always remember

As I kiss your cheek, we don't have to speak
We understand each other so well that we don't need words to express our feelings

The violins, like a choir, express the desire
The sound of the violins expresses our mutual desire for each other

We used to know not long ago
We used to feel this strongly for each other not so long ago

So just hold me tight in your arms tonight
Hold me tightly in your arms tonight, as we relive the memories of our love

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: COLE PORTER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@dhsfema9830

1y↑24

I wasn't born when this song came out and now 67 years later this melody popped into my mind and I remembered my mother playing it and similar songs like it on our record player. I never new the name of the song so I hummed it on googles. WOW! It pulled it straight up, the original song on Decca .45 record (I remember the vinyl) It brought back beaitiful memories of my childhood.

@hilde4ever

36w↑1

Same age, similar memories. Young folks in those days went for a seat when this was played: it was too beautiful to dance to.

@elizabethzahedi8804

3y↑83

I was seven years old when this was a hit. I loved it then; I love it still.

@Evelynshere

3y↑10

Me too. I was 5.

@grahammay6855

2y↑6

takes me right back to 7 years old

@jseligmann

2y↑5

And I was eight. It was my.mother's favorite song.. I love it now more than ever.

@rogerpropes7129

2y↑5

Ditto, b. 1944

@fdr1895

2y↑3

I was five, and still love to hear it

5 More Replies...

@segifford1

2y↑31

I was also seven years old when I loved this hit. I remember dancing romantically to it when it played on Hit Parade. Imagine a little seven-year-old caught up in the romance of this song! I am listening to it now for the first time since I was a little girl. It is still so beautiful to me.

@Bluesmn9

2y↑2

I was four, but I remember it clearly. Your childhood account is a beautiful memory.

@lindamassey9817

2y↑1

Me too ! And at 73 I feel like that little girl again hearing it.

@legatofancier

2y↑17

Leroy Anderson's Blue Tango and Patti Page's recording of How Much Is That Doggie In The Window were the first two songs I can remember vividly from my early childhood. I simply loved the Blue Tango as a small boy. LeRoy Anderson was an excellent artist.

@dhsfema9830

@anistill5987

4y↑41

Leroy Anderson was a Gifted Genius - Thank you for sharing this delightful piece of music.

@the78prof72

4y↑5

Glad you enjoyed it

@MrTraffIQ-AZ

4y↑33

Going through all the Billboard hits from 2020 to currently 1952. Fascinating way to time travel via music. Try it sometime.. and be sure to pack a hearty meal or two. 😎✌

@randyborst7517

4y↑4

that'll take you a while-here's a list that might interest you top 100 instrumentals of th 50-60s https://www.waybackattack.com/top100-instrumentals.html

@MikeBlitzMag

4y↑47

Leroy Anderson operated on a level of genius to which few (if any) could aspire. In the process, with Blue Tango, he created what is arguably the greatest instrumental of all time. Absolute, utter perfection.

@JbrickM100A

24w↑3

Yes I agree wholeheartedly! Especially since in 1952 there weren’t that many songs you could review. But yes, this song was a classic when you consider it was performed by a philharmonic orchestra like the original recording. Even me who was born in 1949 at 3 years of age I had the 78 rpm that I played on my kiddie 78 record player. And consider how many other musicians covered Blue Tango like Les Baxter, Hugo Winterhalter, Guy Lombardo, and Bill Black this song really proves what a classic song this is. What upsets me is these millennials can never and don’t have the smarts as to what great everlasting music really is! Thanks for posting you appreciate classic great music like I do. Take care, Rick

@ginnieboyd637

2y↑12

Love this song .so beautiful

@lindaeasley5606

51w↑5

When you get older you tend to develope a great appreciation for music that predated the rock n roll era .
I'm 62 and I love this ❤️
My oldest sibling was born the year this was a smash. As I listen to it ,my mind goes back to that era in time

@lauriebrown7748

3y↑11

Such a beautiful song !!!

@williamschlenger1518

4y↑47

I remember hearing this on the radio when I was young.

@aattura1541

3y↑2

Me too -- I loved his music, even as a tiny kid

@brucelee8819

3y↑2

Me, too, and compare it to what you hear on the radio today😤

@Waddle_Dee_With_Internet

@Bruce Lee rapping is overrated

@bernardslaundry3879

4y↑6

This was a staple of those old MOR radio formats on AM stations in the 60s. Growing up in Tulsa, I used to hear this on KRMG, the station my mother listened to all day. Johnny Martin, the station's legendary late night DJ, used to play this a lot. So many memories...

@curtthegamer934

2y↑5

Fun fact: This was what was originally going to be played at the dance in Back to the Future instead of Night Train. Also, the dance was "Springtime in Paris" instead of "Enchantment Under the Sea."

@pelokazikanyati7699

37w↑2

As an amateur Ballroom & Latin American dancer at varsity, this was my favorite Tango track. 38 years later it still remains in my heart. Many memories were recently triggered when my former dance partner from my varsity days sent this to me😇🥰

@lindaeasley4336

5y↑31

According to Wikipedia , Billboard had Anderson's Blue Tango ranked as #1 for the year of 1952

@MrJamieMurph4141969

4y↑2

I believe it.

@theOlLineRebel

4y↑2

Yup.

@westleyruiz9324

4y↑1

It was

@candyhoback5796

2y↑8

We roller skates to this in the 50's. Loved it then and still love it.

@billjohnson9452

3y↑2

Great to hear this. I wasn't around yet (not quite) when it was on the charts, but came to love it as a kid, and played a piano reduction of it in middle school or high school, I forget which. Now, fifty years later, I'm trying to play it again, and have resumed loving it, whether full orchestral piece or piano reduction.

@nigelcrowther1272

4y↑8

It corresponds with the time our family had emigrated to Australia, 1951-54. I too remember it on the radio then, and it vividly brings back that time, the people and places we knew.

@1mrstutt

2y↑1

My all-time favorite song of that decade. Glad is discovered the great instrumental songs by Leroy Anderson.🎼

@djdavemick

4y↑6

38 weeks on the chart (top 30); a chart record (any pop chart size) until 1957 "Wonderful #Wonderful" by Johnny Mathis (39 weeks).

@michelleregis6181

3y↑15

I adored this as a child... it was in the top ten on the radio back then ..no rock and roll yet. Presley and the Beatles came a bit later.

@thejkyle

What was it like when Elvis and the Beatles started playing on the radio? Did people think it was a fad or was it accepted as kind of “revolutionary” as it’s regarded today?

@belartful

@J Kyle Un
like anything ever heard before,(especially the Beatles)and didn't take long to become super popular!

@user-xq4cn5pw8r

44w↑2

Beautiful rendition

@l.russellbrown9732

2y↑2

LeRoy wrote this
Everlasting melody himself
And
He performed it
With pure magic.

@1mrstutt

2y↑1

Thank you Prof78 for these wonderful uploads. I was too young to remember Leroy Anderson’s music, but through you I have discovered his delightful music. Blue Tango is my favorite. Thanks so much again!

@the78prof72

You're very welcome! I was age 8 when "Blue Tango" was first released, and it's remained one of my all-time favorites ever since.

@karenmarshall6764

3y↑3

LOVE LOVE LOVE this song!!

@sooz9433

2y↑3

My memories of this song are so emotional. I recall being a child and watching my parents dance to this song back when they were still in love. I've always loved Blue Tango with a passion. I feel sorry for young people today because it seems they will never know the joy of true Music. Thank you for sharing this beautiful recording from the Soundtrack of my youth 🎼🖤

@MrShindiMember777

No don’t feel sorry for us. We have Yeat and Playboi Carti

@hansbosse1106

41w↑1

I can remember hearing this song on our radio at home when I was a kiddie no more than five years old. And a nice memory too.

@michaelwascom62

30w↑2

Musical genius on steroids! ... that was Leroy Anderson!
Music that is as fresh and vibrant today (2023) as when it was first composed (late 1940's and early 1950's).
Leroy Anderson's music just makes you feel good all over!

@MrJamieMurph4141969

4y↑8

In a way, the movie “La Bamba”(about Ritchie Valens’ life and launch of his singing career) brought me here. This piece is heard in the scene where he goes over to Donna’s house demanding to see her(fortunately her mother who is a bit tolerant of Richie compared to her dad, answers the door), as he has heard that she has been “out on a date.” (Her father is playing this on the hi-fi as Richie arrives and as he and Donna have their conversation at the front door), as if to emphasize the mood of the scene, being played in a minor key and sounding sad(like when Richie asks of Donna if she wants to take a walk, and she glances at her dad as she knows how her dad is about Richie(anti-Hispanic, hence what had inspired the song “Donna”) and sure enough her father has the biggest I-won’t-hear-of-it! look on his face as Blue Tango continues playing.

@tiggywinkle20

1y↑2

My parents danced to it when I was little. Lovely. Thank you.

@tiggywinkle20

Today is the wedding anniversary. They are sadly gone so playing it for them🌹

@willchristie2650

45w↑2

Born in 1952. Remember this song being on the radio throughout my childhood, along with big band hits from the 40's. My older sister and I would mimic the movies of the period doing the tango, walking across the living room, side ways, cheek to cheek, with arms outstretched and clasped. We'd get to one end of the room and then with a dramatic swirl we would swing around to march across the room again. My mother assumed we were destined for greatness at the Arthur Murray dance studio. I had years of instruction there, learning classic dances that I've only used a couple times in my long life at wedding receptions and old folks senior center dances. Much easier nowadays to just jiggle and shake on the dance floor like you are having an attack of diarrhea!

@RIBuzz37

2y↑1

I was about 15 years old and loved this song so much.

@jeffreyberkin-ez3uh

49w↑1

Nice, but it's amazing how popular this was!

@mrs.g.9816

1y↑1

I always imagined a strange but nice vista - a mixture of snow-capped mountains and sunlit olive orchards. Mom had a 45 of Blue Tango, and I was only three when I first heard it and started imagining that magical place.

@chrispeterson8863

18w

LOVE THIS!!!

@lechefdelaperoopera4118

3y↑2

My parents loved this piece, and I had occasion to play it for my lady-friend to very good effect

@garyk3551

38w

This was played on Family Favourites in the UK on Sunday lunchtimes,it brings back happy,good memories for me.

@mikesosa1146

3y↑9

Thank you for posting. I am estatic you are back. This tune takes me back.

@the78prof72

3y↑2

My pleasure. I was about 8 1/2 when this was released and I begged my dad to buy the record. I played it so many times.....still among my all-time favorites.

@mikesosa1146

3y↑3

@the78prof Same here. But when I listen to it I get "allergies" in my eyes. I was 8 in 1959 and my father played it on a 78. Takes me back to Wiliamsburg, Bklyn!!! Thanks again for taking me back. Will be spending a lot of time on your site.

@johnmolnar3516

3y↑3

What a great piece of music. Which everyone knows. But might not know the name of the song.

@cruisinthefifties

34w

I loved this song when I was a kid in 1952..

@prepostmodern1032

2y↑1

I played a 78 RPM record of it a lot as a kid. It started my interest in good records.

@willchristie2650

45w

I used to play a 45 of this at the fastest speed on my toy record player. It drove her nuts.

@stevebrennan1309

I was 3 years old. And I absolutely remeber it, and loved it. It was my intro to music.

@jourwalis-8875

2y↑1

A 45 rpm record in 1952!

@user-ww7ec2ot4n

2y↑1

an
awesome tune

@markmccammon266

1y↑1

I also was 7 in 1952. Small world. I took dancing lessons and this was one we played in class.

@eugenialefebvre5606

2y↑4

My dear mother loved this song!!!!

@clendenenjames8804

2y↑2

Hell let's go dancing, this is why this song was written

@TheDejael

37w

I was 5 years old in 1952 when this song came out and was playing on the radio then. My parents played their portable AM radio a lot while doing household tasks, so I grew up listening to a lot of music from their generation, Big Band Swing, Pop (which was singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin), and then I got into early Rock'n'Roll in 1955, and Elvis in 1956. My Dad was a city slicker and my Mom was a country farm girl so I was raised on Old Time Country Gospel and Country-Western music by her radio preferences.
This is a beautiful orchestral arrangement and a memorable song. No wonder it was a #1 hit record!

@chlcdny

26w

☆☆☆•Looooove this Tango...Ever since I First Heard It...Waaay Back in The Day!!♡♡♡•deb out!☆☆♡♡•☆

@sobieskilinda

2y↑1

I was five when I made the help at the Press Club dance the Tango with me across a polished dance floor to what I called “Blue de Tango!”

@JK-xt3ms

4y↑7

My mother has this original record, also. Except it’s the 78, not the 45!

@clendenenjames8804

2y↑1

Just another beautiful song

@clendenenjames8804

2y↑1

I lived ar a time when big bans was shifting over to what we have today combos singers was even were ,it was a beautiful time ,but every once a while someone would show greatness, I loved it also cars s boars were large and faster miss it it was like a melting pot,but something beautiful would show it self

@70hoovie

36w↑1

I was born in '52. I remember wearing out my Dad's copy of Lovely Bunch of Coconuts and also a song called I Never See Maggie Alone.

@the78prof72

35w

Those were two popular 1949 novelty hits, and both are available on this channel's 1949 HITS ARCHIVE playlist. Look here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx8kU_D2e4vqOheMf911WS0vYd_ardtFi

@zomtazsam

2y↑1

This was a top song the year I was born.

@richmifflin3864

A really great song

@JbrickM100A

30w↑1

I was 3 believe it or not and still love it. I got the 78 and played it on my kiddie 78 record player with the tone arm at the where the speaker was. And I remember the needles Thad to screw in the tone arm to play. Does that take some of you back? I have 2 45s and 2 78s in mint condition that are in both jukeboxes I have. Oh what sound!!! Have come a long way from that kiddie phonograph yes indeed!!!

@frankhyland6333

I remember the picture house ( movie theatre) used play this as the patrons where taking their seats, before the show started.

@BillMorgenstein

3y↑2

Wow. Thanks. Haven't heard that in years

@georgejob2156

I was six years and remember it played on the Light Programme on the wireless.

@shirleypete1956

3y↑3

The first record I bought.

@clendenenjames8804

2y↑1

That was back when we could dance with the most wonderful and beautiful women In the world ,how I miss it

@jimyoung6271

Joe Sarib was surprised to know I knew this tune.

@anyonymswede

24w

I was born 1957, my parents had the record.

@clendenenjames8804

2y↑2

Years ago music went through changes from big bands to combo's and man ws great, music like this was produced also cars bigger and faster houses were 3 bedrooms, and many toliets ALL this was being fed with U S just won a war and we all deserve it YES my friends it was a heck of a time Late 50s

@clendenenjames8804

ITS ALL TRUE I WAS THERE CARS BOATS,HOUSES WERE LARGER BE CAUSE WE JUST WON A MAJOR WAR SO THE US WAS EASY PICKING FOR THE DEVIL, BUT I MUST TO ACCEPT WE SET OUR SELVES UP FOR FAUILER

@thefunniman439

3y↑3

My grandpa was 22 when this was made : |

@kristabarnhart5834

1y↑1

I wasn't born till 1955. This was also one of my

@kristabarnhart5834

Mom's all time favorites. Haven't heard it since 1977, the year Mom was killed. Miss her everyday. She had great taste in music, for sure. 😊❤️

@ginnieboyd637

2y↑1

Yes I use to hear this song when I was younger also

@rodrigoexposito99

Estoy acá luego de haber leído el primer guión de "Back to the Future"

@bmrosario8961

This tango is in Kojak episode. Love music, lovely danced. No I don't remember it. I heard it before. Fr.L.A. CA.USA

@stanleydavis7904

3y↑3

Music!!

@miriambucholtz9315

2y↑2

I was 5 when I heard this. I have synesthesia; sounds suggest colors to me. When I heard the title of this song, I almost had a temper tantrum. Blue? No it isn't. It's red! And pink, and orange, and...

@missymathie680

2y↑2

a touch of gold..❤

@ozzygarcia3891

My grandfather used to play it

@tomp.6239

3y↑3

What possible level of cretin could possibly thumb-down this?

@lisec.3070

sweet

@DrBlues76

2y↑2

I’m here because of Tom Willet “Featureman”

@drrgperrin

4y↑2

I wonder what the record sales were. The United States had a much smaller population in 1952 to support record sales.

@CrossOfBayonne

4y↑1

Actually in the post war 1950s era the US had a large population due to the baby boom.

@drrgperrin

4y↑1

@B&O5300 Yes, of course, I should have said something like, "Compared to today, where a million seller is still a big deal, the United States had a much smaller population in 1952 to support record sales."

@JbrickM100A

28w

Yes sir, of course!!

@010bobby

2y↑1

The year i was born... 1952

@negispringfield6156

I've heard this somewhere but I don't know where

@clendenenjames8804

1y↑1

Great song for dance with dips just the right man and women wit long dre6

@leelarson107

It is not enough to bemoan the fact that nothing like this is being produced today. **One should look at WHAT is being produced, and BY WHOM. This is now a cultural wasteland, thanks to Rock, Rap, and Country/Western.