Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra - Moonlight In Vermont (Verve Records 1957)

"Moonlight in Vermont" is a popular song about the U.S. state of Vermont, written by John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf and published in 1943. The lyrics are unusual in that they do not rhyme. John Blackburn, the lyricist, has been quoted as saying, "After completing the first 12 bars of the lyric, I realized there was no rhyme and then said to Karl, 'Let's follow the pattern of no rhyme throughout the song. It seemed right.'" The lyrics are also metrically interesting in that each verse (not counting the bridge) is a haiku. The song is considered an unofficial state song of Vermont and is frequently played as the first dance song at Vermont wedding receptions. There are few, if any, sycamore trees in Vermont and no meadowlarks. Blackburn, from Ohio, who wrote the lyrics, may have imposed his own interpretation of what he saw during his trip to Vermont which inspired the song.

Billie's accompanied by Harry Edison (trumpet), Ben Webster (tenor saxophone), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), and Alvin Stoller (drums). Recorded in Los Angeles, January 3, 1957. (Verve Records)

Pennies in a stream
Falling leaves a sycamore
Moonlight in Vermont

Icy fingers wave
Ski trails on a mountain side
Snow light in Vermont

Telegraph cables, they sing down the highway
And travel each bend in the road
People meet, in this romantic setting
Are so hypnotized by the lovely

Evening summer breeze
Warblings of the meadowlark
Moonlight in Vermont

Telegraph cables, they sing down the highway
And travel each bend in the road
People who meet, in this romantic setting
Are so hypnotized by the lovely

Evening summer breeze
Warbling of a meadowlark
Moonlight in Vermont
You and I and Moonlight in Vermont