"Last Night When We Were Young" is a 1935 popular song about nostalgia and young love [1] composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg. Arlen regarded it as the favourite of the songs that he had written.[2]
Lawrence Tibbett recorded the song on October 9, 1935.[2] It was cut from his film Metropolitan but performed instrumentally behind the credits.[3]
"Last Night When We Were Young" was highly regarded by Judy Garland, who recorded it twice, and frequently performed it.[2] Composer Alec Wilder called it a "most remarkable and beautiful song" that "goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music." Continuing, he stated that "[i]t is unlike any other Arlen song that I have heard. However, it is unmistakably his."[3] Harburg did not know where he acquired the title, saying, "the juxtaposition of those two phrases is almost a whole world of philosophy".[2] Singer Tony Bennett, aged 95, gave an "emotional" performance of the song at his final concerts, in 2021.[4]
