Make Believe
Paul Whiteman & Bing Crosby Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We could make believe I love you
Only make believe that you love me
Others find peace of mind in pretending
Couldn't you? Couldn't I? Couldn't we?

Make believe our lips are blending
In a phantom kiss, or two, or three
Might as well make believe I love you

For to tell the truth
I only tell the truth

This time I'll tell the truth
I do

Overall Meaning

The song Make Believe by Paul Whiteman and Bing Crosby is a melancholic tune about pretending to love someone. The song starts with a suggestion of a make-believe love story between two people where they pretend to be in love just to attain inner peace and happiness. The lyrics highlight that pretending to be in love could be a source of comfort for some people. The idea of feigning affection is further emphasized in the second verse where they engage in a phantom kiss or two or three. The entire song is suggestive of the idea of pseudo romance and the reluctance to express true feelings.

Despite the overall melancholic tone of Make Believe, the final verse brings in a note of honesty. As if to emphasize that the song is not advocating for insincerity, it points out that "For to tell the truth, I only tell the truth. This time I'll tell the truth, I do." This may imply that the singer has felt the urge to pretend to love someone in the past, but at this moment, they have embraced their true emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

We could make believe I love you
Let us imagine that my love for you is real and strong

Only make believe that you love me
Let us pretend that your love for me is genuine

Others find peace of mind in pretending
Some people experience contentment by pretending things rather than facing the reality

Couldn't you? Couldn't I? Couldn't we?
Can't we both imagine this to be true and live in this make-believe for a while?

Make believe our lips are blending
Let us pretend that we are kissing and our lips are becoming one

In a phantom kiss, or two, or three
Whether it is one, two or three kisses, let us imagine the feeling of our love

Might as well make believe I love you
There is no harm in pretending that I love you, so let us do it

For to tell the truth
In reality

I only tell the truth
I only speak truthfully

This time I'll tell the truth
However, this time I am going to be honest about my feelings

I do
I really do love you

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jerome Kern, Oscar II Hammerstein

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@thomassmith5400

3y↑3

All comments from YouTube:

@derekmyers3258

2y↑4

I love this early versatility and breakthrough spirit of Bing!

@ClaraKoser.CarlosGardel

6y↑30

How I love this music. Bing Crosby in the 1930s. I am only 76 --- wish I were 90 to have lived those times with real music.

@kenlee1416

4y↑4

I'm in my mid-40s and been listening to Bing's recordings (1920s to 1950s) for over 20 years.
Don't wish to be back in those days since the technology is so much better today plus, there are a dozen or more Bing movies to enjoy on DVD/Blu Ray.

@goshlikkrudbahr5109

If you were 90, not only would you have gotten to see such awesome bands play, you coudl have skipped Trump and Corona.

But then you'dve had an extra 16 years of the crap fest that was WWII and the depression.

@ClaraKoser.CarlosGardel

3y↑2

@@kenlee1416 I just saw your reply. I am very happy that in your mid-20s and 40s you were and still are listening to real music. Oh, how I wish to have been born in 1900 (and being dead now). I prefer to listen to the pre-1926 real music with all its sounds from the Victrola needle and scratches. I do not listen to Bing from the 1940s nor 1950s. Ahhh, and how handsome he was in the 1920s and 1930s. (Now I am only 78.)

@ClaraKoser.CarlosGardel

3y↑3

@@goshlikkrudbahr5109 You are right, Mr. Krudbahr, about the WWII years. Ahhh, but to have seen Bing Crosby in person in the 1920s/1930s with that voice and so handsome!!!

@kenlee1416

3y↑1

@@ClaraKoser.CarlosGardel It sure would have been great to see Bing with the Paul Whiteman orchestra or better yet with the Rhythm Boys and singing alongside other music legends like Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden and the Dorsey brothers. Bing's mid-1950s radio recordings (for CBS) are right up there among his best. Below is the picture on one of Bing's CD box sets that I have .. link: https://jeffsplace.positive-feedback.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20-Bing-Crosby-Box-set-front-768x1024.jpeg

3 More Replies...

@johnwhitehead3360

1y↑2

CLASSIC THANK YOU

@thom6746

1y↑1

Love the booming bass being Bing's voice.

@lesterwyoung

10y↑13

Steve Brown from New Orleans playing magnificent string bass!

@colujomes

14y↑11

Some see this as a lot more than mere novelty. Here Crosby is developing arguably the most influential vocal style of the 20th century (see Will Friedman, Jazz Singing, 1990, p.31).

@MrNEStalgia

13y↑2

I swear, i have memorized every lyric of this song in two or three days. Love it!

@fatsfan70

15y↑3

A great performance - one of my favourite songs from one of my favourite musicals! Also love "Can't Help Lovin' That Man Of Mine" from the same show.

@trevorfleisig9056

6y↑3

Please note on Thursday 22nd of November at The cadogan hall In Sloane square London there will be a Paul Whiteman Concert with a forty piece Orchestra, with Keith Nicholls on the Steinway and Pete long ( MD Ronnie Scotts ) conducting. If you can make it a date

@60sguitarchild

12y↑5

very cool Crosby voice and orchestra sound from that era............mike in spokane

@AMG93

11y↑14

I picked this up yesterday at a record shop only to accidentally roll over the record today and shatter it. I'm still mourning my loss

@armandprovencal9379

How'd you roll over it?

@AMG93

Laid it on my bed while dusting and forgot it was there. I sat on it and shattered it. I still come back to this video every now again and curse myself.

@eustace8520

@@AMG93 You just destroyed a peace of history... I know that feeling. Well, except it wasn't my fault in particular. I bought a record on eBay and the guy didn't package it properly. So when it arrived, I recieved a shattered up record. I was so sad.

@libertytree3209

Years ago I had an Edison cylinder record and brought it in for a presentation - at the end of the class I saw it had been cracked in two. I've always kicked myself for letting it out of my hands.

@Elagabus

9y↑9

Still have my 78 of Bing singing this ... mint condition . Love it.

@toughcrowd94

13y↑4

Thanks! Great song!

@victorrussell777

8y↑2

Rocky Whiteside

@Jamesmac30

13y↑3

Thanks for this - I have never heard Bing sing this - I love it!

@petertaylor3600

6y↑5

Love the bassoon farting away in the b/g. Very much in the style of the times.

@AvitalShtap

It's wonderful!

@wygtam

That might be Frankie Trumbauer.

@lesterwyoung

I think it might be a bass saxophone.

@ShaNaNa242

4y↑2

Posted on my birthday.

@mainaccount131

6y↑1

Wonderful music

@timdoonan2588

9y↑22

Bing is so conforming to 1920's music standards that I must admit I had difficulty recognizing his voice. The smooth baritone is, to me, yet to come. In any case, thanks to Paul Whitman for giving Bing the pivotal opportunity.

@ianboard544

8y↑5

Some of his best work was done in the 20's.

@enricosanchez894

Tim Doonan Before his throat operation.

@petertaylor3600

Tim, he totally changed his style in the mid 30s, and dropped his range a lot. He'd been singing way too high, it seems.

@petertaylor3600

Mind you, he gave Paul Whiteman a terrible time while he was there.

@edisone1

Bing's voice was almost destroyed by all his intense popularity in the early 30s - he was told to lower his range & rest his voice, or lose it forever.

3 More Replies...

@thomassmith5400

3y↑3

@mainaccount131

Super excellent with very good interesting photos

@Corrie121

14y↑2

This is quite delightful!! Thank you for sharing.

@mrstorrey

5y↑1

I am related to Paul Whiteman he is a cousin on my dads side. Way cool

@mikosaaol

13y↑2

bing ruled

@cf1934

6y↑1

The woman at 2:09 is Agnes Moorhead. She played Samantha's mother Endora in Bewitched.

@GazelleDZ

4y↑1

Make Believe was not a Fox Trot ... It is a beautiful love song...

@radiobob805

11y↑4

The good part starts at 1:30. Crosby with the Rhythm Boys was great. It goes from this huge band to just the Rhythm Boys. the band is clunky. They are great for that time.

@begs54

11y↑3

Wow, this was a great recording of Make Believe by Jerome Kern. Paul "Pops" Whiteman was the best for play these types of arrangments. Crosby started out with Whiteman as part of the trio "The Rhythm Boy's"/ Intersting to hear him here. Here one Youtube listen to "Happy Feet" and you will understand why they were called the Rhythm Boys. Thanks for loading this.

@fromthesidelines

Arranged by Ferde Grofe.

@Snarky79

+begs54:-- i thought the "Rhythem Boys" were birth control advocates in direct opposition to condoms and such.

@BixLives32

3y↑1

BIX LIVES!

@1915fas

13y↑2

@jazzgirl1920s Yeah and he built Del Mar too.

@1915fas

13y↑3

Wasn't he trying to sing higher at this time in his career and hurt his vocal chords as a result? He developed nodules that gave him that rain barrel sound. I'm sure I remember hearing as a kid that he had those nodules insured!

@pagemike4192

6y↑2

Is that really Bing Crosby singing ? he did make many records with Paul Whitman but the voice sounds wrong

@bsgs98

6y↑2

It's Bing, indeed! On the flip side of this record, he sings "Ol' Man River". Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRv5gcrReaA

@aaronminnick9416

6y↑3

Bing initially emulated the tenor crooner sound of the 1920s, a much lighter style and higher range than his now-familiar baritone sound. He performed and recorded extensively in this style during the late 20s and early 30s, and many of his recordings at the time show audible vocal fatigue.