April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the verb aperire, “to open”, in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to “open”. So to open the month here are a selection of songs dedicated to April.
“April Come She Will” is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their second studio album, Sounds of Silence (1966). It originally appeared on the solo album The Paul Simon Songbook. It is the B-side to the hit single “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”. The song was written in 1964 while Paul Simon was in England. Its lyrics use the changing nature of the seasons as a metaphor for a girl’s changing moods. The inspiration for the song was a girl that Simon met and the nursery rhyme she used to recite, “Cuckoo”. It is the shortest song on the album.
“April in Paris” is a popular song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by Yip Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical ‘Walk a Little Faster’. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake (inspired by the movie of the same name) was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50. Composer Alec Wilder writes, “There are no two ways about it: this is a perfect theatre song.” Count Basie’s 1955 recording on the album of the same name is the most famous, and that particular performance was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
“April Showers” is a 1921 popular song composed by Louis Silvers with lyrics by B.G. De Sylva. The song was introduced in the 1921 Broadway musical ‘Bombo’, where it was performed by Al Jolson. It became a well-known Jolson standard: the first of his several recordings of the song was on Columbia Records in October 1921. It has also been recorded by many other artists.
“Little April Shower” is a song featured in the 1942 film Bambi. After a day of fun for young Bambi, he and his mother settle down and witness the rain just before the night storm. It was written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. If you watch the opening the song you’ll hear four separate notes in the introduction as the raindrops begin falling. In a previous version, those notes were supposed to be words (something like this): “I, I, I, I, like, fall, -ing, I, Iike, fall, -ing, I like falling, I like falling, etc.) Ultimately, the animators decided that this was detracting from the quality of the song and the song was modified into its current version.
“April Showers” by ProleteR. ProleteR is a French music producer who’s discography encompasses a diverse body of high quality beats. “April Showers” is a light, upbeat, breath of fresh air that’ll get you out of your seat and boogying on your feet. This newage spin on a classic sound is nothing short of delightful. “April Showers” is a great song to play in the background throughout the day to squeeze an extra step into your day. The track originates from ProleteR’s 2011 EP “Curses from Past Times,” which features other old timey, jazz and swing inspired instrumentals.
