This is going to be a different sort of post than what you usually read here at Heroes, Heroines, and History. It'll be my last post on the blog (unless I stop by for a visit), so I want to leave everyone with some nostalgia and a song.
Authors often mention particular songs in their stories to help create the feeling of the time when the story is set. In my novel Season of My Enemy (2022), farm workers--including German prisoners of war--sang along to Don't Fence Me In while they worked the Wisconsin harvest. It suited the story so well, I couldn't resist, expressing the desire for freedom and peace while showing a camaraderie among the workers even during war.
We're probably all familiar with the swoony number I'll Be Seeing You, another song written about missing a loved one across space and time. It's an historically popular song written in 1938 by lyricist Irving Kahal with music by Sammy Fain, and was first recorded by Dick Todd on the Bluebird music label. But the haunting melody and simple yet heartfelt lyrics have been picked up by a myriad of singers through the decades. The song still finds its way into current popular culture with fresh performances and in film.
The tune became a WWII wartime hit when it was crooned by Bing Crosby, making it's way to number one on the charts in 1944. It's popularity continued with renditions by Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Durante, Dinah Shore, and even Barbara Streisand.
While probably not as popular as some of the other recordings by artists like the above or Billie Holiday or Peggy Lee, I particularly like this smooth 1959 version by Tommy Sands:
Never seeming to grow old, I'll Be Seeing You was used in various films also, a couple popular ones being The Notebook and, surprisingly, Deadpool and Wolverine. One movie even carried the title. At the height of the song's popularity in 1944, I'll Be Seeing You--the film--starred Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotton, and a teenage Shirley Temple. Add it to your list of classics to watch. You'll be glad you did.
Anyway, why am I writing today about this perennially popular piece of culture? After all, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of songs that have stood the test of time or suggest certain periods specifically. Glad you asked!
Research is fun for an historical author. Just last week, I took a road trip to delve deeper into the setting of my fall 2026 release, Cinder Smudged, a 1930s realistic retelling of Cinderella. I can almost imagine my heroine humming this tune (if only it had been written by then).
This is the main reason why I am stepping back from writing for HHH. With writing and family life (I'm now a grandma to TWENTY, twelve girls, eight boys!), I've simply had to make decisions about what to set aside. I'm also trying some new ventures, like reviving my YouTube channel. Besides that, I'm soon to release a new 2-story compilation called A Haven for Love, I'm making edits to a Revolutionary War story, and The Girl from Tomorrow's Town will release next spring from Barbour's Enduring Hope series.
I hope you'll stop by my channel, visit me on social media, and follow along with all of my adventures and updates in my newsletter, which you can sign up for on my site. But for now. . .
I'll Be Seeing You,
Here, There, or In the Air,
While probably not as popular as some of the other recordings by artists like the above or Billie Holiday or Peggy Lee, I particularly like this smooth 1959 version by Tommy Sands:
Never seeming to grow old, I'll Be Seeing You was used in various films also, a couple popular ones being The Notebook and, surprisingly, Deadpool and Wolverine. One movie even carried the title. At the height of the song's popularity in 1944, I'll Be Seeing You--the film--starred Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotton, and a teenage Shirley Temple. Add it to your list of classics to watch. You'll be glad you did.
Anyway, why am I writing today about this perennially popular piece of culture? After all, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of songs that have stood the test of time or suggest certain periods specifically. Glad you asked!
The tune began to play through my mind as I reflected on the many posts I've written and the historical treasure trove I discovered along the way here on the HHH blog. I've covered topics ranging from the preservation of historic barns to the adventuresome history of the fur traders and voyageurs of the Great Lakes; and from Wisconsin's prisoner of war camps to the stories that inspired many of our favorite hymns. There are dozens of topics I've written about in between these. I always enjoyed finding tidbits of wonder in these historical posts, and the research for these posts continues to feed my imagination and my stories.
Research is fun for an historical author. Just last week, I took a road trip to delve deeper into the setting of my fall 2026 release, Cinder Smudged, a 1930s realistic retelling of Cinderella. I can almost imagine my heroine humming this tune (if only it had been written by then).
This is the main reason why I am stepping back from writing for HHH. With writing and family life (I'm now a grandma to TWENTY, twelve girls, eight boys!), I've simply had to make decisions about what to set aside. I'm also trying some new ventures, like reviving my YouTube channel. Besides that, I'm soon to release a new 2-story compilation called A Haven for Love, I'm making edits to a Revolutionary War story, and The Girl from Tomorrow's Town will release next spring from Barbour's Enduring Hope series.
All told, I have four books scheduled for release over the next fourteen months! So, yes, of course, I'll continue to write fiction as long as God gives me the opportunity.
I hope you'll stop by my channel, visit me on social media, and follow along with all of my adventures and updates in my newsletter, which you can sign up for on my site. But for now. . .
I'll Be Seeing You,
Here, There, or In the Air,
Naomi
www.naomimusch.com
www.naomimusch.com
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