Lorenz Hart

Lorenz Hart (born May 2, 1895, Harlem, New York, U.S.—died November 22, 1943, New York City) was an American lyricist whose commercially successful popular songs incorporated the careful techniques and verbal refinements of serious poetry. His 25-year collaboration with the composer Richard Rodgers resulted in about 1,000 songs that range from the simple exuberance of “With a Song in My Heart” (1929) to the glib sophistication of “The Lady Is a Tramp” (1937). Many of their tunes became part of the Great American Songbook, a loosely defined canon of influential pop and jazz standards.

(Read Britannica’s article “Are Song Lyrics Poetry?”)

Early life

Hart was one of two sons born to Max and Frieda (née Isenberg) Hart, German Jewish immigrants in New York City. A descendant on his mother’s side of the Romantic poet Heinrich Heine, Hart spoke German at home as a child. He began performing in musicals and writing songs and poems while attending summer camps in upstate New York. In 1915 he enrolled at Columbia University to study journalism. After two years, during which Hart took literature and playwriting courses and wrote skits for the university’s varsity shows, he dropped out without earning a degree.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Collaboration with Richard Rodgers

Hart then worked as a translator of German operas and plays for a New York-based company associated with the Shubert Brothers, the predominant theater organization in the United States in the early 20th century. In 1918, when he was 23, Hart met Rodgers, then 16, and their partnership began. They wrote the Columbia University varsity show of 1920. Their first Broadway success was The Garrick Gaieties (1925), which includes the songs “Manhattan” and “Mountain Greenery.” It was followed by a series of increasingly sophisticated musical comedies, among which were A Connecticut Yankee (1927), Babes in Arms (1937), The Boys from Syracuse (1938; an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors), and, perhaps their masterwork, Pal Joey (1940).

Rodgers and Hart also contributed songs to Hollywood films, including the musicals Love Me Tonight (1932; starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald), Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933; starring Al Jolson), and Mississippi (1935; starring Bing Crosby).

As Rodgers matured into a hard-working, hard-driving professional, Hart remained the gifted amateur. His aversion to sustained work, keeping appointments, and meeting deadlines lent credence to Rodgers’s description of him as “a partner, a best friend—and a source of permanent irritation.” In time Hart became increasingly addicted to alcohol and less and less reliable. The last full show that they wrote together was By Jupiter (1942), a year before Hart’s death.

Death and legacy

Hart died of pneumonia several days after the Broadway premiere of a revival of A Connecticut Yankee. The production featured six new songs by Hart and Rodgers, including Hart’s last lyric, “To Keep My Love Alive.”

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

Their long list of successful songs includes “Here in My Arms” (1926), “My Heart Stood Still” (1927), “Lover” (1933), “Blue Moon” (1934; their only song not introduced in a stage or film production), “My Funny Valentine” (1937), “Falling in Love with Love” (1938), “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (1939), and “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” (1940).

Hart was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. His partnership with Rodgers is the subject of the 2025 film Blue Moon, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke as Hart.