Songwriter Irving Berlin Dies

For more than three years, I have made weekly visits to a special care unit for victims of Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders with my mother, who is in her 80s and perhaps a bit senior to the average patient. One day, about two years ago, my mother discovered that singing old songs like “School Days” and patriotic songs was one activity many of the patients enjoyed and could join in.

We began to hold informal sing-alongs and to expand our repertoire. Apart from gaining an appreciation for Berlin’s prolific talent and his legacy of melodic tunes and witty lyrics, we came to recognize “Always” as being at the top of the hit parade among our memory-impaired friends. It is a song that must have been sung at a lot of proms, weddings and anniversaries over the years. It is still deep in the hearts of many. More than once, I have seen animation creep into a long-mute and expressionless face as a mouth silently formed the words “I’ll be loving you always.”

ROBERT WOODS MANN

San Francisco