An examination of the copyright history of "Blue Moon," which was complicated and unusual, was critical for shedding light on Edward W. Roman's likely authorship of the iconic song.
"Blue Moon," as we know it today, was registered for copyright as a published work by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. on December 5, 1934, and credited to songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (music and lyrics, respectively), who had been under contract at the studio throughout 1933 and into March 1934. However, three previous iterations of the same melody, each with a different title and set of lyrics, had been registered for copyright by MGM as unpublished works in the year and a half prior.
At the Library of Congress, we asked to review all four "deposits," the material that is actually registered for copyright. The deposit for the first iteration of the song, registered on July 10, 1933, was missing. What appears to be a copy of this document surfaced at the New York Public Library with a telling date handwritten on the upper left: 1-12-32. That is the date of song broker Jack Mahoney's offer letter for "Blue Moon" to the Troy, New York, teenager, Edward W. Roman.
A look at each of the deposits follows. What this material reveals about the song's authorship is discussed in the first and final sections of the Memoir.
Blue moon, you saw me standing alone,
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own.
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for,
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for.
And then there suddenly appeared before me,
The only one my arms will ever hold.
I heard somebody whisper, “Please adore me.”
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
Blue moon,
Now I’m no longer alone,
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own.