(Love Is) The Tender Trap

Album

Single

Label

Capitol Records

Genre

Film Soundtrack

Media Type

45

Duration

2:56

Composer(s)

Sammy Cahn;James Van Heusen

Entered Chart

Dec 10, 1955

Released

28 November 1955

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Capitol F3290

B-Side

Weep They Will

"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was written for the 1955 film The Tender Trap, where it was introduced by Debbie Reynolds and Frank Sinatra, who each sing the song separately. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from the film of the same name. A version by Frank Sinatra became a major hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at no. 2 in February 1956. It reached no. 7 in the US charts.

You see a pair of laughing eyes
And suddenly your sighing sighs
You're thinking nothing's wrong
You string along, boy, then snap

Those eyes, those sighs
They're part of the tender trap

Your hand and hand beneath the trees
And soon there's music in the breeze
You're acting kind of smart
Until your heart just goes whap

Those trees, that breeze
They're part of the tender trap

Some starry night
When her kisses make you tingle
She'll hold you tight
And you'll hate yourself for being single

And all at once it seems so nice
The folks are throwing shoes and rice
You hurry to a spot
That's just a dot on the map

You're hooked, you're cooked
You're caught in the tender trap

Some starry night
When her kisses make you tingle
She'll hold you tight
And you'll hate yourself for being single

And all at once it seems so nice
The folks are throwing shoes and rice
You hurry to a spot
That's just a dot on the map

And then you wonder how it all came about
It's too late now, there's no getting out
You fell in love, and love is a tender trap