I Should Care is a 1944 pop and jazz ballad written by Sammy Cahn with music by Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston. The song tells a story of quiet heartbreak, as a singer admits that even though it hurts, they still care. It was published in 1944 and introduced in the MGM film Thrill of a Romance in 1945, with the original recording by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra featuring Bonnie Lou Williams and The Sentimentalists in November 1944. A popular 1945 Frank Sinatra recording with Axel Stordahl helped boost its fame, and since then it has become a jazz standard with countless interpretations. The tune is typically performed as a lush 32-bar AABA ballad in a swing or bop context, with notable versions by Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon and Nat King Cole. It remains associated with the Thrill of a Romance soundtrack while appearing on many jazz albums as a classic example of mid century swing and ballad writing.
