Nat Shilkret-You Came Along

For Nathaniel Shilkret, music may have been his fated profession. Born to a pair of musical Austrian immigrants, his life was infused with musical learning almost from the word “go”. Luckily for his parents (and music lovers) young Nat was an apt student, and child prodigy. His childhood and teens focused more upon classical music, but by 1915 he had found a place within the Victor company. By 1926, he was Victor’s “director of light music”. Shilkret made thousands of recordings, compositions and was also a conductor for many of the up and comers in the music world. This particular song was not penned by Shilkret, but the listener can get the sense that his conducting lent an element to a piece that allowed it to become something special. With that, let’s examine “You Came Along”.

The piece makes clear from note one that it is for feeling, not thinking. That’s perfectly fine, though. The intro breezes past and doesn’t burden the listener much. When the vocals kick in, they are light and airy to match the instrumentals. The focus is at that instant that one feels that love has entered his/her life. The object of the singer’s affection smiles, and they are sure that they need their love’s companionship for the foreseeable future. Whether it works (or doesn’t) for our infatuated singer, we will never know. Yet, the song seems so earnest in its portrayal of the moment that love hits that it might not matter. The instrumental section picks up after the lyrics end, and the presentation is perhaps a bit more energetic, to ensure the song doesn’t wear out its welcome after an intro and a chorus. This energy also means that the song ends with a bang, not a whimper. Such can certainly be said for the career and impact of Mr. Shilkret. (Audio for song is below)