Bei Mir Bistu Shein
| "Bei Mir Bist Du Shein" | |
|---|---|
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| Song | |
| Published | November 24, 1937 |
| Composer(s) | Sholom Secunda |
| Lyricist(s) | Sammy Cahn & Saul Chaplin |
| Language | English |
"Bei Mir Bistu Shein" (Yiddish: בײַ מיר ביסטו שיין, "To Me You're Beautiful") is a popular Yiddish song composed by Jacob Jacobs (lyricist) and Sholom Secunda (composer) for a 1932 Yiddish comedy musical, I Would If I Could (in Yiddish, Men Ken Lebn Nor Men Lost Nisht, "You could live, but they don't let you"), which closed after one season (at the Parkway Theatre in Brooklyn, New York City). The score for the song transcribed the Yiddish title as "Bay mir bistu sheyn". The original Yiddish version of the song (in C minor) is a dialogue between two lovers.
The song became known with English lyrics but retaining the Yiddish title, "Bei Mir Bistu Shein". It also appeared with a Germanized title "Bei mir bist du schön".
In 1937, Sammy Cahn heard a performance of the song, sung in Yiddish by African-American performers Johnnie and George at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City. Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel proprietor Jenny Grossinger claimed to have taught the song to Johnnie and George while they were performing at the resort. On seeing the response, Cahn got his employer to buy the rights so he (together with Saul Chaplin) could rewrite the song with an English lyric and rhythms more typical of swing music. Secunda sold the publishing rights to the song for a mere US$30 which later he split with Jacobs. Cahn then persuaded the still unknown Andrews Sisters to perform the song (recorded November 24, 1937). It became their first major hit, earning them a gold record, the first ever to a female vocal group. It was also a worldwide hit.
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