One Kiss
Nelson Eddy Lyrics


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In this year of Seventeen-Ninety-Two
Our conventions have been thrown all askew
And I know I'm out of date when I seek one mate
One faithful lover true

To be really in the fashion today
You must have a dozen beaux in your sway
But somehow I don't believe in the modern plan
I want to wait for just one man

(It's more fun to love 'em all)
Kiss 'em all, short and tall)

I have another scheme
It's my only dream

One kiss, one man to save it for
One love for him alone
One word, one vow, and nothing more
To tell him I'm his own
One magic night within his arms
With passion's flower unfurled
And all my life I'll love only one man
And no other man in the world

(You've been reading stories of romantic glories)
(Are you growing sad for your Galahad?)

Soon my Knight may find me
Softly steal behind me
Put me on a horse
And carry me away
Laugh all you like at me
I'll find my man, you'll see

One kiss, one man to save it for
One love for him alone
One word, one vow, and nothing more
To tell him I'm his own
One magic night within his arms
With passion's flower unfurled




And all my life I'll love only one man
And no other man in the world

Overall Meaning

The song "One Kiss" by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald is set in the year 1792, a time when following convention was the norm. The song tells the story of a woman who wants to find true love and remain faithful to just one man. However, in that time it was fashionable for women to have a dozen beaux in their sway. But she refuses to conform to the norm and wants to wait until she finds "one faithful lover true".


She dreams of that one magical night when they are together, and her passion is finally brought to life. She emphasizes her commitment to that one man, and nothing and no one can change her mind. She is waiting for her knight to come and sweep her off her feet, even if others laugh at her. The song emphasizes the importance of true love and conviction of the heart, something that is still relevant today.


The message of the song transcends time and is still relevant today. The idea of finding that one true love and wanting to be faithful to them resonates with many. The song also values conviction of the heart and staying true to oneself, even if it goes against convention.


Line by Line Meaning

In this year of Seventeen-Ninety-Two
In this year, conventions are being challenged


Our conventions have been thrown all askew
Our conventions have been disrupted


And I know I'm out of date when I seek one mate
I am aware that my preference for one partner is considered old-fashioned


One faithful lover true
I desire one partner to be faithful and true to


To be really in the fashion today
Being fashionable today means having multiple partners


You must have a dozen beaux in your sway
You must have multiple admirers


But somehow I don't believe in the modern plan
However, I do not believe in having multiple partners


I want to wait for just one man
I want to wait for one man who I can be faithful to


(It's more fun to love 'em all)
(Even though some people think it's more fun to have multiple partners)


Kiss 'em all, short and tall)
(To kiss partners of different heights)


I have another scheme
I have an alternative plan


It's my only dream
This is the only thing I dream of


One kiss, one man to save it for
I want to reserve my affections for one man


One love for him alone
I want to love only him


One word, one vow, and nothing more
I want to give him one promise and keep it


To tell him I'm his own
To let him know that I belong to him


One magic night within his arms
To spend one special and passionate night in his embrace


With passion's flower unfurled
To express my passion and love for him fully


And all my life I'll love only one man
I will love only him for the rest of my life


And no other man in the world
I will not love any other man


(You've been reading stories of romantic glories)
(You may think my ideal is too romanticized)


(Are you growing sad for your Galahad?)
(Are you feeling sympathetic towards me and my ideal partner, like Galahad?)


Soon my Knight may find me
Soon I may find my ideal partner


Softly steal behind me
He may come to me subtly and secretly


Put me on a horse
He may take me away on a horse


And carry me away
He may take me far away from here


Laugh all you like at me
You can laugh at me if you want to


I'll find my man, you'll see
I am confident that I will find my ideal partner




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@bella246able

Her astounding beauty, her sweet beautiful voice will never be seen or heard again. She was a one and only with Nelson.

@kerryincolumbus

imagine if we had such beautiful singing today, such charm and grace from her and such wonderful singing from him... we'll never see or hear this kind of class again.. what a shame because this is the most beautiful version ever recorded

@SamG2016

Two of the greatest singers of our time. Hopefully their music will be around for a thousand years, so that others will one day be entertained to the max, fantastic work!

@suz208

The angels in heaven can have no sweeter voices than these, to add to their own. R.I.P.

@kerryincolumbus

Just imagine the number of encores these two have done in Heaven since the day they both died, it's boggles the mind! God: "Hey you two, you haven't sung for me for almost 5 minutes now, let's have another one please." ... Jeanette and Nelson: "Yes sir"..... I'm sure this has GOT to be one of his favs!

@fweinberg22

Her beauty and her voice will never be matched.

@erzbet07

Outstanding! Never has ONE KISS been so beautifully sung. Long live Jeanette and Nelson! Yes, I'm biased. I've been a fan since 1958. Thank you for posting!

@barbrasgirl8

Such a beautiful voice and just watch the facial expressions.

@akarpowicz

So Nice!! I also have an LP of Beverly Sills singing Victor Herbert with this - she loved the old operettas. Thanks for posting.

@Snarky79

Can anyone remember the movies from which the songs "Farewell to dreams" and "Auf Wed ehrsehn " were taken? I first saw "Naughty Marietta" in 1938 at Daytona Beach Fla as a third grader. Inveterate fan ever since. a number of their movies eluded me but the songs still grab!!!

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