Thanks For The Memories

1903 --2003

		Bob Hope, ski-nosed master of the one-liner and favorite comedian of servicemen and presidents alike, has died, less than two months after turning 100. Mr. Hope died late Sunday of pneumonia, his longtime publicist said. The nation's most honored comedian, a millionaire many times over, was a star in every category open to him -- vaudeville, radio, television and film.
	THE FIRST MOVIE Bob Hope and Shirley Ross appear in The Big Broadcast of 1938, Hope’s debut in movies. The film introduced Thanks for the Memory, which later became Hope’s signature song. [File photo]
	THE ROAD PICTURES Hope starred with Dorothy Lamour and Bing Crosby in Road to Morocco, one of seven “Road” pictures Hope made with the actors. [File photo]
	THE OSCAR Hope, shown in 1971, was a perennial host of the awards ceremony. He received five honorary Academy Awards. [File photo]
	GOLD MEDALIST President Kennedy honors Bob Hope, shown with his wife, Dolores, for “outstanding service to democracy throughout the world.” [AP file photo: 1963]
	ENTERTAINING THE TROOPS Hope performed for U.S. soldiers in Saudi Arabia in 1991, part of “Operation Desert Shield.” [NBC photo]
	GOLF CLASSIC On Jan. 15, 1997, Hope tees off on the 10th hole during the first round of play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic golf tournament in California. [AP file photo: 1997]

EARLY DAYS
At 18, Bob Hope was an amateur performer.
[Paramount Pictures photo]

Thanks for the Memory

Words and music
by Leo Robin
and Ralph Rainger

Yes, we’ve traveled far and wide together;
Did we travel too fast?
Now I reminisce and wonder whether any good things ever last.
But that, dear, is past.

Thanks for the memory
of rainy afternoons,
Swingy Harlem tunes,
And motor trips and burning lips and burning toast and prunes,
How lovely it was!

Thanks for the memory
of candlelight and wine,
Castles on the Rhine,
Your cozy chair and parties where we sang “Sweet Adaline”
How lovely it was!

Many’s the time that we feasted
And many’s the time that we fasted.
Oh, well, it was swell while it lasted;
We did have fun and no harm done.

And thanks for the memory
of sunburns at the shore,
nights in Singapore.
You might have been a headache but you never were a bore,
So thank you so much.

Thanks for the memory
of sentimental verse,
Nothing in my purse,
And chuckles when the preacher said
“For better or for worse.”
How lovely it was!

Thanks for the memory
of lingerie with lace,
Pilsner by the case,
And how I jumped the day you trumped my one and only ace.
How lovely it was!

We said goodbye with a highball;
Then I got as “high” as a steeple.
But we were intelligent people;
No tears, no fuss,
Hurray for us.

So thanks for the memory
and strictly entre nous,
Darling, how are you?
And how are all the little dreams that never did come true?
Awf’ly glad I met you,
Cheerio and too-dle-oo.
And thank you so much!