Come Rain or Come Shine: Piano/Vocal/Chords

This collection captures a songwriter whose work defined the sound of American popular song across seven decades of film, theater, and jazz standards. Every arrangement here sits perfectly under the voice, giving singers room to inhabit Mercer's conversational wit and emotional depth without fighting the accompaniment. The breadth of styles (novelty numbers, film ballads, jazz standards, show tunes) means you can program across moods and showcase the full range of what makes this repertoire endure.

These songs evoke the golden age of American songwriting, when lyrical cleverness and emotional honesty coexisted without contradiction. Some tracks shimmer with optimism and playfulness ("Hooray for Hollywood"); others settle into smoky, contemplative spaces ("One for My Baby"). The overall arc moves between nostalgia and immediacy, always grounded in Mercer's gift for capturing authentic human experience through deceptively simple language.

Pianists and vocalists preparing songs for recital, audition, or casual performance will find reliable, singable arrangements of American standards that sit well on the voice and work equally well as piano solos. Jazz singers, cabaret performers, and music theater students benefit from access to iconic repertoire in a single volume. Community and adult amateur singers building a performance songbook will appreciate the mix of recognizable classics and deeper cuts.

• Sing the text naturally, following speech patterns rather than strict melodic phrasing. Mercer wrote words first, and the melody serves the language; let your delivery reflect that priority.
• Pay close attention to the guitar chords when accompanying yourself or working with a guitarist. These voicings are carefully chosen and often contain passing tones that add sophistication to the harmonic movement.
• Balance the vocal line with piano accompaniment by listening to how the composer-lyricist duo scored each song. Some arrangements are sparse and intimate; others are lush. Match your vocal weight to the accompaniment's texture.
• Work through the bridge or release sections of these songs with particular care. Mercer often shifts emotional tone in the second half, and the harmonic movement can be unexpected; practice these transitions deliberately.

Program individual selections as solo recital repertoire or build a full concert around Mercer's work, pairing upbeat novelties with introspective ballads to show the full emotional and stylistic range of his catalog. These arrangements work beautifully in cabaret-style performances where the pianist is part of the storytelling. Use the collection as a primary text in a course on American popular song or twentieth-century song craft, since each piece demonstrates distinct lyrical and musical techniques.

• Interpreting conversational, speech-like text delivery in song
• Balancing melody and accompaniment in singer-pianist collaboration
• Reading and performing jazz-influenced harmonic language and chord substitutions
• Understanding voice-leading and harmonic sophistication in popular song
• Sustaining a performance across varied tempos, moods, and styles within a single program