They Can't Take That Away From Me is a 1937 song (see 1937 in music) written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and first performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Shall We Dance (1937). Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... [[ For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... See also: 1936 in music, other events of 1937, 1938 in music and the list of years in music. Events January 21 - Paul Sacher conducts the world premiere of Béla Bartóks Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta in Basel June 2 - The incomplete version of Alban Berg... // George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer who wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother lyricist Ira Gershwin. ... Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. ... Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska[1], was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ... Shall We Dance is the seventh in the sequence of ten Astaire-Rogers musical comedy films. ...

The song is performed by Astaire on the foggy deck of the ferry from New Jersey to Manhattan. It is sung to Ginger Rogers, who remains silent listening throughout. No dance sequence follows, which was unusual for the Astaire-Rogers numbers. Astaire and Rogers did dance to it later in their last movie The Barkleys of Broadway (1949). The song, in the context of Shall We Dance, notes some of the things that Peter (Astaire) will miss about Linda (Rogers). The lyrics include "the way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea", and "the way you hold your knife, the way we danced till three." Each verse is followed by the line "no, no, they can't take that away from me." The basic meaning of the song is that even if the lovers part, though physically separated the memories cannot be forced from them. Thus it is a song of mixed joy and sadness. Here are the lyrics: Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress and singer. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

[Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note

Though by the morrow, you're gone.

The song is ended, but as the song-writer wrote,

The melody lingers on.

They may take you from me.

I'll miss your fond caress.

But though they take you from me

I'll still possess...]*

• (This intro is used in Shall We Dance (1937) but not in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949))

There are many many crazy things

That will keep me loving you

And with your permission

May I list a few

The way you wear your hat

The way you sip your tea

The memory of all that

No they can't take that away from me

The way your smile just beams

The way you sing off key

The way you haunt my dreams

No they can't take that away from me

We may never never meet again, on that bumpy road to love

But I'll always, always keep the memory of

The way you hold your knife

The way we danced till three

The way you changed my life

No they can't take that away from me

Many artists have recorded the song since, and it has become a standard, as with so many of Gershwin's songs performed by Astaire. It was famously recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1962, appearing on the album Sinatra and Swingin' Brass. Sinatra's version injected his trademark swing feel, giving the song a new lighthearted boost. Other artists who have recorded the song include Ella Fitzgerald, on her epic 1959 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook, Billie Holiday, and more recently Lisa Stansfield, Rod Stewart, Tuck & Patti and Robbie Williams. The song is featured as part of a high school Gershwin review in the film Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and is also one of the Broadway songs included by Kenneth Branagh in his film adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost (2000). Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and Academy Award-winning actor, often cited as the finest male American popular song vocalist of the 20th century. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Sinatra And Swingin’ Brass is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1962. ... Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as Lady Ella (the First Lady of Song), was considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook is a 1959 (see 1959 in music) album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, (focusing on the songs of George and Ira Gershwin) recorded with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, marking the first time that Ella and Riddle had worked together. ... Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later called Lady Day, was an American singer known equally for her difficult life and her emotive, poignant singing voice. ... Lisa Stansfield on the cover of her debut album Affection Lisa Jane Stansfield (born on April 11, 1966) is an English R&B/Soul/House music singer from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. ... Roderick David Stewart, CBE (born January 10, 1945), is a Scottish rock singer who was a member of the The Jeff Beck Group and the Faces before embarking on a solo career. ... Tuck & Patti are a jazz and Christian musical duo, comprising husband Tuck and wife Patti. ... Robbie Williams (born Robert Peter Williams on February 13, 1974 in Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom) is a Brit Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated English singer-songwriter. ... Mr. ... Kenneth Charles Branagh (born December 10, 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning Northern Irish-born British actor and film director. ... Title page of the first quarto (1598) Loves Labours Lost is one of William Shakespeares early comedies; it is believed to have been written around 1595-1596 and is probably contemporaneous with Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights Dream. ...