Songwriter Irving Berlin Dies

For more than three years, I have made weekly visits to a special care unit for victims of Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders with my mother, who is in her 80s and perhaps a bit senior to the average patient. One day, about two years ago, my mother discovered that singing old songs like “School Days� and patriotic songs was one activity many of the patients enjoyed and could join in.

We began to hold informal sing-alongs and to expand our repertoire. Apart from gaining an appreciation for Berlin’s prolific talent and his legacy of melodic tunes and witty lyrics, we came to recognize “Always� as being at the top of the hit parade among our memory-impaired friends. It is a song that must have been sung at a lot of proms, weddings and anniversaries over the years. It is still deep in the hearts of many. More than once, I have seen animation creep into a long-mute and expressionless face as a mouth silently formed the words “I’ll be loving you always.�

ROBERT WOODS MANN

San Francisco