"Where or When" is the first number to appear in the original Broadway production of Babes in Arms. The musical opens in fictional Seaport, Long Island on a hectic morning that finds most of the adult population embarking on a five-month vaudeville tour. Soon after his parents' departure, 20-year-old Valentine LaMar (played by Ray Heatherton) discovers at his doorstep a young hitchhiker named Billie Smith (played by Mitzi Green). Instantly smitten, he engages her in a discussion of movie stars, self-defense maneuvers, and Nietzsche's theory of individualism, at which point Val impulsively steals a kiss. Both admit to a powerful sense of déjà vu and sing "Where or When" as a duet.[2]
MGM bought the screen rights to the play in 1938, and the following year the studio released Babes in Arms, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. The picture bore little resemblance to its stage predecessor, with the characters and plot substantially revised by 10 studio writers, and only two numbers being retained from the score.[2] "Where or When" appeared 37 minutes into the film,[3] sung in a duet by Betty Jaynes and Douglas McPhail, and partially reprised solo by Garland.[4]
Lyrics
The lyrics of Where or When illustrate a memory phenomenon known as déjà vu. The line "Some things that happened for the first time...", as interpreted by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald[5] is sung as "Some things that happen for the first time...," which gives it a somewhat different meaning.
Ultimately, the uncertainty of whether the couple had met before is never resolved in the lyrics, just wistfully chalked up to "tricks that your mind can play" in the final line of the second verse, which is not often recorded:[6]
Recorded versions
Where or When has become part of the Great American Songbook, having been recorded by scores of popular artists over the decades, starting with a successful cover by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra shortly after its debut in 1937.
