Come Rain Or Come Shine (from St. Louis Woman): E-Z Play Today

This arrangement strips away complexity without sacrificing the song's emotional depth. Students get direct access to one of Broadway's most elegant love songs, with clean voicings that let the melody breathe and the harmony support rather than overwhelm.

Wistful and assured at once. The melody carries quiet confidence, as if the singer has already made a decision about love that no weather can change. Beneath it sits a foundation of blues-touched harmonies that ground the sentiment in something real and lived.

Piano students seeking substantial standard repertoire with manageable technical demands, and pianists building a working knowledge of essential American songbook material. This works equally well for solo performance or as accompaniment for a vocalist exploring jazz and popular music standards.

• Shape the phrasing in long, unhurried lines; the beauty of this tune lives in sustained expression rather than rhythmic punctuation.
• Balance the melody against warm, full harmonic support in the left hand so the song feels conversational rather than recital-like.
• Lean into the jazz heritage by allowing slight rubato during the bridge, then settle back into a steady tempo for the final statement of the theme.

Feature this in a standards recital or jazz appreciation concert where it can sit alongside other Arlen compositions. It also serves as an excellent solo bridge piece between classical and contemporary programming, showing students how American songbook material sustains performance-level interest without the technical barriers of Rachmaninoff or Gershwin.

• Jazz-influenced harmonic movement and color
• Lyrical phrasing and melodic shaping over steady accompaniment
• Interpreting standard notation with stylistic nuance
• Voice leading in support of a primary melody