"I'll Take Romance" is a popular song with music by Ben Oakland and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, composed in 1937 for the film of the same name starring soprano Grace Moore. The melody is light and flowing, with a wistful, romantic quality characteristic of the sophisticated Tin Pan Alley songwriting of its era. Hammerstein's lyrics express a simple, heartfelt devotion, complementing Oakland's elegant melodic line. Oakland, a composer whose work is less widely remembered than that of many contemporaries, produced two songs with Hammerstein -- this tune and "A Mist Over the Moon" -- both originating from their Hollywood collaborations during the late 1930s. While "I'll Take Romance" never achieved the ubiquity of top-tier Great American Songbook standards, it has maintained a steady presence in jazz and vocal repertoires as a vehicle for improvisation and interpretation. Sheila Jordan recorded a notable uptempo version on her 1960 album Comes Love for Blue Note, and Jeri Southern offered a vocal treatment that highlighted the composition's lyrical charm. Sheet music for the tune appears in the Shirley Horn Papers at the Library of Congress, suggesting its use by the celebrated jazz vocalist. The composition's adaptability to both ballad and swing treatments has sustained its appeal among singers and instrumentalists seeking material outside the most heavily performed standards.
