"Skylark" is a popular song with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, composed in 1941. Carmichael originally wrote the melody as part of an unproduced musical tribute to his late friend, jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, drawing phrasing inspiration from Beiderbecke's improvisations and giving it the working title "Bix Licks." He passed the melody to Mercer, who labored over the lyrics for months, reportedly inspired by his affair with Judy Garland. By the time Mercer delivered the finished words, Carmichael had nearly forgotten about the tune. The composition follows a 32-bar AABA form and features a sinuous, flowing melody with extended lyrical lines that evoke the soaring flight suggested by its title. The harmony employs rich chromatic progressions characteristic of Carmichael's writing, supporting the melody's graceful contour without abrupt shifts. A subtle rhythmic flexibility built into the written melody gives performers considerable interpretive latitude, lending the piece its reputation as a singer's and instrumentalist's vehicle alike. Within Carmichael's catalog, "Skylark" represents the second entry in what has been called his "musical aviary" series, following "Mr. Bluebird" from 1935 and preceding "Baltimore Oriole" from 1942. It was first recorded by Gene Krupa and His Orchestra with vocalist Anita O'Day in late 1941. The song gained further prominence through Sarah Vaughan's celebrated 1954 recording with Clifford Brown and has since become a widely performed standard in both the jazz repertoire and the broader Great American Songbook.
