Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the life and artistry of Ira Gershwin (1896–1983), the American lyricist whose words gave voice to the songs of George Gershwin and many other composers. Dive into his biography, career highlights, philosophy of songwriting, and timeless quotes.

Introduction

Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) is celebrated as one of America’s greatest lyricists of the 20th century. Though less publicly visible than his brother George, Ira’s poetic, witty, emotionally precise lyrics shaped the “Golden Age” of American song, bridging Broadway, Hollywood, and the concert stage. His work continues to resonate in the Great American Songbook, influencing lyricists, composers, and audiences worldwide.

His genius lay in transforming simple emotions—romance, heartbreak, joy, regret—into unforgettable verbal expression matched to melody. As a writer, he understood nuance, irony, and wordplay; as an artist, he honored the musical lines. His partnership with George Gershwin remains one of the most fertile in American musical history.

Early Life and Family

Ira Gershwin was born in Manhattan, New York City, at 60 Eldridge Street in the Chinatown / Lower East Side neighborhood.

The family name went through changes — originally Gershovitz, then “Gershwine” or “Gershvin,” before settling on “Gershwin.”

As a youth, Ira was somewhat reserved and introspective. He spent much time reading and observing. Townsend Harris High School, a specialized public school for gifted students, where he became friends with Yip Harburg (future lyricist). City College of New York, but did not complete a degree.

To support himself early on, Ira worked at his father’s Turkish baths and in other menial jobs, while quietly nurturing his interest in words, newspapers, and creative writing.

Youth and Early Career

Ira’s first published lyric was a parody that appeared in the New York Sun around 1917.

At first, to maintain his own creative identity, he used the pseudonym Arthur Francis (from his siblings’ names, Arthur + Frances). Ladies First (1918), although it was cut in the New York run.

During the 1920s, Ira fully embraced his identity as a lyricist under his own name, contributing lyrics to major Broadway shows, working with George on musicals like Lady, Be Good! (1924), Oh, Kay!, Funny Face, Girl Crazy, and others. Porgy and Bess (1935) in collaboration with DuBose Heyward.

Career and Achievements

Collaboration with George Gershwin

Ira’s most enduring legacy comes from his partnership with George. Together they yielded an astonishing number of songs now central to American musical heritage. Some of their best-known works include:

• Lady, Be Good! — “Oh, Lady Be Good!”, “Fascinating Rhythm”

• Funny Face — “‘S Wonderful”, “How Long Has This Been Going On?”

• Girl Crazy — “Embraceable You”, “I Got Rhythm”, “But Not for Me”

• Shall We Dance and They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, They All Laughed (films/musicals)

• Porgy and Bess — Ira contributed lyrics for songs like “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

Their collaboration was not merely a pairing of composer + lyricist. Ira had strong literary instincts, acute sense of meter, clever wordplay, and the capacity to match the emotional tone of George’s melodies. Together they pushed the boundaries of American popular song, elevating it to lyrical and musical sophistication.

Independent Work & Later Collaborations

After George’s untimely death in 1937, Ira continued to write lyrics, partnering with composers like Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Harold Arlen, and Harry Warren.

In 1944, Ira and Jerome Kern collaborated on Cover Girl and wrote the song “Long Ago (and Far Away)”, which became one of his most commercially successful works.

However, after his 1946 show Park Avenue failed, Ira largely withdrew from Broadway, focusing on occasional songwriting and his personal archives.

He published Lyrics on Several Occasions (1959), an autobiographical and annotated anthology, which remains a key resource for understanding his craft and thoughts on lyric writing.

Awards, Recognition & Institutional Legacy

• Ira Gershwin, George S. Kaufman, and Morrie Ryskind won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1932 for Of Thee I Sing (a musical), making them among the few in Broadway history to do so.

• Many of his songs (e.g. They Can’t Take That Away from Me, Long Ago (and Far Away), The Man That Got Away) were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Original Song.

• He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971.

• After his death, his widow Leonore established the Ira Gershwin Literacy Center (1987) in New York, promoting English literacy in immigrant communities.

• The Library of Congress Prize for Popular Song has been named in honor of George and Ira Gershwin.

• The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) received a gift of their library and musical materials, helping sustain scholarship in American music.

Historical Milestones & Context

Ira Gershwin’s creative life unfolded during a pivotal era of American culture: the rise of Tin Pan Alley, the blossoming of Broadway musicals, the advent of talking pictures, the Great Depression, World War II, and postwar shifts in popular music.

In forming songs that balanced popular appeal with poetic intelligence, he and George helped define what it meant to write an “American” musical idiom. His lyrics reflected, in miniature, the sensibilities of urban modern life: longing, wit, sophistication, and emotional subtlety.

The tragic death of George Gershwin in 1937 left Ira without his most important collaborator, but he carried forward the legacy, supporting preservation of their work, mentoring younger generations, and maintaining high standards for lyric writing.

In the postwar era, with jazz, swing, and then rock & roll rising, practitioners of the Great American Songbook looked to Ira’s lyrics as models of craft—how to write with clarity, economy, and emotional resonance.

Legacy and Influence

Ira Gershwin’s influence remains deep and wide:

• Standard Repertoire: Many of his songs with George (and others) are standard fare in jazz, Broadway revivals, cabaret, and concert programs.

• Model for Lyricists: His attention to rhyme, internal rhyme, phrasing, and emotional precision continues to inspire lyricists studying the craft.

• Scholarship and Archives: His writings, manuscripts, correspondence, and annotated lyrics provide rich material for researchers of American musical theater and popular song.

• Cultural Honors: The naming of awards, centers, and archival programs after Ira helps keep his name alive in musical culture.

• Preservation of an Era: Through Lyrics on Several Occasions and collaborations with scholars and musicians (such as Michael Feinstein), Ira helped preserve the memory and standards of his generation for posterity.

Personality and Talents

Ira Gershwin was known as a reserved, observant, witty, and highly literate individual. He loved language, books, and nuance, and combined a sharp critical ear with humility.

He possessed deep respect for the collaborative process. While George composed, Ira strove to complement and complete the musical ideas rather than impose them. His lyric writing shows both deference and intellectual independence.

In personal life, he married Leonore Strunsky in 1926.

Despite working in a field often dominated by showmanship, Ira’s strengths lay in quiet precision, reworking, editing, and listening—qualities that produced lyrics of enduring clarity and depth.

Famous Quotes of Ira Gershwin

Below is a selection of memorable quotes attributed to Ira Gershwin, reflecting his wit, insight, and reverence for language:

• “A song without music is a lot like H2 without the O.”

• “Old age adds to the respect due to virtue, but it takes nothing from the contempt inspired by vice; it whitens only the hair.”

• “Deep, unspeakable suffering may well be called a baptism, a regeneration, the initiation into a new state.”

• “Life is one long jubilee.”

• “One can be very happy without demanding that others agree with them.”

• “The way you wear your hat, The way you sip your tea, The mem’ry of all that — No, no! They can’t take that away from me.”

• “’S wonderful! ’S marvelous — You should care for me!”

• “I got plenty of nothin’, And nothin’s plenty for me.”

• “You like potato and I like po-tah-to… Let’s call the whole thing off!”

• “In time the Rockies may crumble … But our love is here to stay.”

These lines display Gershwin’s facility with internal rhyme, conversational rhythm, and emotional clarity.

Lessons from Ira Gershwin

From Ira Gershwin’s life and work, several enduring lessons emerge for creators and appreciators alike:

1. Words matter deeply: A lyric must serve the music, but also stand on its own with clarity and emotional weight.

2. Collaboration is a dialog: Ira worked to complement composers’ impulses, not override them.

3. Revision is vital: His craft demanded reworking, internal rhymes, editing, and precision.

4. Embrace restraint: He often found power in understatement, nuance, and subtext.

5. Balance timelessness and context: While he wrote for his era, many of his songs remain timeless—rooted in human feelings, not just trend.

6. Preserve legacy intentionally: His efforts in preserving his manuscripts, annotating his work, and supporting archival projects show the importance of caring for one’s creative heritage.

Conclusion

Ira Gershwin stands as one of the most influential lyricists in American musical history. His partnership with George Gershwin produced songs that entered the standard repertoire; his solo work and collaborations continued the tradition of excellence. His mastery of language, emotional insight, and collaborative sensitivity made him an exemplar for lyricists and songwriters of later generations.

By studying his words, his methods, and his philosophy, we see not only how songs are crafted but how humanity is expressed in melody and metaphor. If you like, I can also gather recordings, annotated lyric collections, or a Vietnamese-language version of this article for your needs. Do you want me to do that next?