Top Ten Songs by Nat King Cole
#1″Unforgettable” – has become, thanks to its original l release and its novel re-release produced with an effective and moving voice over by his daughter, the signature song of Nat King Cole. Sung originally as a romantic love song, the words sung by father and daughter are capable of interpretation to be simply a love song that has meaning for us all in our many experiences of love between human beings. “Unforgettable” has special maning to Cole fans now years after his death because the word seems a perfect adjective to accurately describe the voice and all the tunes on the list of Top Ten Songs by Nat King Cole.
#2″Ramblin’ Rose” may not be the purest, deepest or richest expression of the talent of Nat King Cole, but it certainly was one of the most popular tunes connected to him. Light, almost frisky, compared to many other Cole hits, “Ramblin’ Rose” tells the all too familiar story of the illusive, wandering lover, in this case Rose. While Cole pours out his true feelings for “Ramblin” Rose, this song ends with the loving recognition expressed in the line ” though I love you, with a love true, who can cling to a Ramblin” Rose. The song which rather incidental acknowledged the liberated position of women in modern America struck a responsive chord across generations and genders.
#3″ When I Fall in Love “and #4 “Let’s Fall in Love ” In these two of the Ten Top Songs by Nat King Cole, Nat expresses in song the touching depth and breadth of the experience of romantic love. In “When I Fall in Love” he gently explores the need for love to , as the song says, ” be forever”. In fact, commitment is deemed so important that Cole sings that without it ” I’ll never fall in love”. The saving grace is only to be found in meeting the lover who shares the same belief in the eternal character of love. In one of the most touching lines Cole intones in the entire list of Top Ten Songs by Nat King Cole, Cole sings, ” And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too, is when I fall in love with you.” For Cole fans and fans of love it just doesn’t get much better than that.
In “Let’s Fall in Love Cole provides a somewhat opposite approach to romantic love. The song still proclaims the joy of love, but it seems a song encouraging lovers to take a rather risky approach, ” to be or not to be let our hearts discover”. In a departure form many of his other love songs this tune ends with the simple proclamation, “Let’s Fall in Love!”
#5There Will Never Be Another You, #6. There Goes My Heart and #7 Pretend. are three tunes from the list of Top Ten Songs by Nat King Cole that address the more demanding sometimes trying side of love. The rich , sensitive voice of Cole adds reality to the hear felt sadness, loneliness even pain shared in these lyrics .
In a reflective mood in “There Will Never Be Another You” Cole laments that ” there will be other songs to sing, another fall, another spring , bu there will never be another you”. Even more distraught in “There Goes my Heart , the soft, almost airy, voice of Cole put together the near mournful couplet, ” Good by romance , it couldn’t last somehow. I had my chance but it’s allover now.” Finally in “Pretend” Cole adopts a brighter more optimistic tone and seems to succeed in, at least momentarily, lifting his listeners with a remedy for the blues. His tone is convincing when he advisees , “Remember anyone can dream and nothing’s bad as it may seem.” If the words don’t convince you of the value of pretending ” you’re happy when you’re blue” , the music and the voice of Cole may still do the trick.
#8″ Walking My Baby Back Home” and #9 Almost Like Being in Love both showcase the upbeat side of the Cole body of work. Almost happy-go-lucky in “Walking My Baby Back Home”, Cole succeeds in switching gears from some of his heavier ballads and just plain has fun. The overall tone of “Almost Like Being in Love is more celebratory than playful from the outset :
“What a day this has been, what a rare mood I’m in. Why it’s almost like being in love. Cole expresses the joy of love as it first is recognized and notes this joy is willing spread as ” there’s smile on my face for the whole human race”. It is difficult, if not impossible to listen to either of these Top Ten Sings by Nat King Cole without experiencing a real happiness bump
#10 “Mona Lisa “ is truly in a class by itself. An academy awarding winning song Mona Lisa as sung by Cole takes on the other worldly timber the lyricist seems to have intended. In its own way this difficult and haunting song provides Cole with a unique vehicle to display the depth and breadth of his musical capacity. It’s not an “easy listening ” tune but it remains firmly ensconced on the list of Top Ten Songs by Nat King Cole.
