I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles for solo guitar

"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," solo guitar arrangement, played by Howard Alden for the Woody Allen film "Sweet and Lowdown"

Howard Alden played this solo for the film "Sweet and Lowdown," where it's heard in three scenes (it's the same recording in each scene). Alden later recorded it twice more, once on the CD "In a Mellow Tone" (2003), and again on the CD "I Remember Django" (2010) as part of a medley with "I'll See You in My Dreams." The film version seems to be in the key of C#, while the two CD versions, and the printed music published in 2005, are in the key of C. Alden used a six-string guitar for the film recording, but a 7-string for both of the subsequent recordings he made. Here are all three versions, plus the snippet of "Sweet Sue" that ends abruptly in the film just before the character Emmet Ray starts to play "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles". That entire scene from the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fn1uYVqVJc. On this "video" (which is all audio), the film version is first, then at 1:00 comes the version from "In a Mellow Tone," and at 2:20, the "I Remember Django" version starts. The "Sweet Sue" snippet starts at 3:35. The arrangement of "Bubbles" is inspired by the early jazz guitarist Eddie Lang (check out his solo guitar recording of "A Little Love, A Little Kiss" which is on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_noh14dp8g). Also check out youtube user "gauthieralex" playing it on a nylon string guitar very well. He notes that he learned it by ear from the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-51X9ADtTlQ The sheet music in the 2005 publication "Howard Alden's Sweet and Lowdown" is a transcription of his 2003 recording for the "In a Mellow Tone" album. There are small differences. For example, in the second bar of the version in the film, there is a quick G9#5 arpeggio on the third beat of the bar (the notes being F - B - Eb - A) that puts a little tension in the piece before it comes back to the C major triad for the second time...it's a nice, jazzy touch missing from Alden's later versions, where he simply plays the top 'A' note of the arpeggio for a quarter note.

Here is what Alden wrote about the origins of this arrangement:

"At the recording sessions for 'Sweet and Lowdown,' one of the tunes Woody asked us to record was 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles.' Dick Hyman had made a swinging quintet arrangement of this tune, with the lead guitar and clarinet playing a few harmonized figures and riffs. After we had recorded it, Woody asked Dick to ask me to play just one chorus of the tune, solo guitar, and I ad-libbed a rubato version of it, playing it much as I imagined Eddie Lang might have played it. Woody wound up using this as the main romantic theme throughout the movie. Samantha Morton as 'Hattie,' Emmet's mute girlfriend, gets mesmerised and falls into a romantic trance whenever she hears Emmet play it, whether in the bedroom or on the road while she's changing a flat tire (Emmet wouldn't dare take the risk of hurting his hands). Emmet also plays it in the final scene of the movie, as he realizes what a mistake he had made in letting Hattie go-right before he smashes his guitar into a telephone pole. For some reason the solo guitar version wasn't included on the movie soundtrack album, although I recorded it on my duo CD with Bucky Pizzerelli, 'In a Mellow Tone' for Concord Records. I played this tune with a pick, but it would also work very well finger style." -- Howard Alden, "Howard Alden's Sweet and Lowdown" (Mel Bay Publications, 2005)

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