Peak
5
Weeks
20
Score
4,099
Chart Year
1955
According to Thomas Hischak in his book The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, the 1955 ditty "Love And Marriage" was "probably the biggest Tin Pan Alley hit to come out of a television special." With lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen, it was written for a musical version of the 1938 Thornton Wilder play Our Town, in which it was sung by Frank Sinatra. It has since been recorded by Eddie Fisher, Frankie Vaughan and Peggy Lee, among others. In 1987, it was used as the theme song for the American TV series Married With Children, which ran for eleven seasons. The song's proposition that love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage does not sound so impressive in 21st Century America, when (according to US Government figures) nearly four babies in ten were born out of wedlock in 2005. And it sounds even less impressive when you realize that a horse is backed blindly onto a carriage and spends its working life pulling a heavy load only to be rewarded with a bag of oats a day and an occasional crack of a whip.
Love and marriage, love and marriage Go together like a horse and carriage This I tell you brother You can't have one without the other Love and marriage, love and marriage It's an institute you can't disparage Ask the local gentry And they will say it's elementary Try, try, try to separate them It's an illusion Try, try, try, and you will only come To this conclusion Love and marriage, love and marriage Go together like a horse and carriage Dad was told by mother You can't have one, you can't have none You can't have one without the other Try, try, try to separate them It's an illusion Try, try, try, and you will only come To this conclusion Love and marriage, love and marriage Go together like a horse and carriage Dad was told by mother You can't have one (you can't have none) You can't have one without the other
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 26, 1955 | 26 | 100 |
| 2 | Nov 2, 1955 | 17 | 109 |
| 3 | Nov 9, 1955 | 13 | 113 |
| 4 | Nov 16, 1955 | 16 | 110 |
| 5 | Nov 23, 1955 | 13 | 113 |
| 6 | Nov 30, 1955 | 13 | 113 |
| 7 | Dec 7, 1955 | 9 | 117 |
| 8 | Dec 14, 1955 | 8 | 118 |
| 9 | Dec 21, 1955 | 7 | 119 |
| 10 | Dec 28, 1955 | 7 | 119 |
| 11 | Jan 4, 1956 | 5 | 121 |
| 12 | Jan 11, 1956 | 5 | 121 |
| 13 | Jan 18, 1956 | 5 | 121 |
| 14 | Jan 25, 1956 | 7 | 119 |
| 15 | Feb 1, 1956 | 12 | 114 |
| 16 | Feb 8, 1956 | 12 | 114 |
| 17 | Feb 15, 1956 | 17 | 109 |
| 18 | Feb 22, 1956 | 43 | 83 |
| 19 | Feb 29, 1956 | 31 | 95 |
| 20 | Mar 7, 1956 | 51 | 75 |