Sentimental Journey

Gonna take a Sentimental Journey,
Gonna set my heart at ease.
Gonna make a Sentimental Journey,
to renew old memories.

Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford.
Like a child in wild anticipation,
I Long to hear that, "All aboard!"

Seven...that's the time we leave at seven.
I'll be waitin' up at heaven,
Countin' every mile of railroad
track, that takes me back.

Never thought my heart could be so yearny.
Why did I decide to roam?
Gotta take that Sentimental Journey,
Sentimental Journey home.
Sentimental Journey.

Music by Les Brown, lyrics by Bud Green, originally sung by Doris Day.  Recorded in November 1944, it was released in early 1945.  In late March 1945 it hit the Billboard Charts, topped out at #1, and remained in the top 100 for 23 weeks, over five months.

This was perfect timing for the end of World War II in Europe, and it became almost a theme song for the troops returning home from that war theater.

I turned 7 years old that summer, and I remember that song very well.  The voice of Doris Day was like an angel in the spring time.  Sultry!

However, I also recall another version of that song done very eloquently.  In those days, in our little one-room schoolhouse we had a small Christmas skit every year.  Although it was sort of about the Christmas Story, actually many children treated it more like a small talent show.  I remember that in December 1945 at our annual show a young gentleman named Neil LaBrake sang that song as a part of the show.  His voice rang out loud and clear, and I can hear it yet somewhere in the reaches of old memories.  Neil is exactly four days my elder.  He was a close neighbor then as we each lived in our parents’ homes, and today, sixty-five years later, he is yet a close neighbor as we live in our own homes less than a mile apart as the crow flies.