"After You've Gone" is a 1918 popular song and jazz standard composed by Turner Layton with lyrics by Henry Creamer.
Contents
History
It was recorded by Marion Harris on July 22, 1918, and released by Victor Records.
After the song became popular, the sheet music was decorated with tiny photographs of forty-five men who had helped to make it famous, including Paul Whiteman, Rudy Vallée, B.A. Rolfe, Guy Lombardo, and Louis Armstrong.
Composition
The chorus adheres to a standard ABAC pattern but is only 20 measures long. There are four 4-bar phrases, followed by a 4-measure tag. The song is harmonically active, with chord changes in almost every measure. The opening four notes to the chorus are identical to the opening notes of "Peg o' My Heart" (1912) — at the time songwriters often borrowed the first few notes of a hit melody.