Without a Song is a popular 1929 tune composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu, published for the musical Great Day. The show ran only 36 performances, but the song became a standard. It was first introduced by Gilbert Burgess Holland with Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra at the Park Theatre in New York, and one of the earliest recordings was Paul Whiteman’s orchestra with Bing Crosby in October 1929. Over the years it has been recorded by a wide range of artists and has become a jazz and pop standard – Billy Eckstine in 1946, Perry Como in 1951 and again in 1970, and instrumental versions by Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Louis Armstrong and many others. The lyric has seen changes in later versions, including replacing the original line about a darkie with more contemporary wording. Willie Nelson released it as the title track of his 1983 album.
