Bobby Darin / Love Swings / 1961
How About You
light, flirtatious, nostalgic
A breezy list-song in which the singer catalogs small personal pleasures and invites the listener to compare notes, turning a simple Depression-era standard into a vehicle for Darin's own winking self-mythology. The 1961 recording keeps the original's conversational charm while swapping in topical and autobiographical references that make the song feel like a direct, flirtatious aside from Darin himself.
simple pleasures romantic courtship nostalgia self-referential humor Americana
Who's speaking
A first-person speaker addresses a specific 'you,' presumably a romantic interest, inviting them into an intimate exchange of likes and tastes; the tone is playful and the speaker fully reliable in that there's no irony undercutting the sincerity of the affection, only the humor of the specific references chosen.
What happens
The song doesn't develop a plot so much as accumulate a mood: verse by verse the speaker widens the catalog of things he loves, moving from general Americana (cities, music, weather) to more personal and risqué territory (physical attraction, intimate moviegoing), ending on a direct declaration of affection for a named romantic partner.
How it's built
Built on the classic call-and-response list format of the standard: each line names a preference and closes with the refrain-question, creating a loose AABA-like repetition. Darin's version doubles the original structure by repeating it with updated, personalized references in the second half, so the architecture is essentially two parallel verses rather than a contrasting bridge.
Section by section
Opening verse
The song opens with broad, universally relatable pleasures—seasons, music, weather—establishing a cozy, unthreatening tone before narrowing toward more personal and playful territory.-
First chorus-like turn
“Mr. Kennedy's looks give me a thrill”
The pivot to a political figure's appeal signals the song's comic, topical bent: it's not just about taste but about staying current, situating the singer as plugged into the cultural moment while keeping the tone unserious.
Second verse
The repetition of structure with updated references (new city, new composer, new gadgets) shows the song's modular, almost ad-libbed quality, as though the speaker could keep inventing new verses indefinitely.
Closing verse
“Mrs. Darin's looks kinda give me a thrill”
The direct reference to his own wife transforms the generic romantic list into a personal declaration, collapsing the fictional 'you' of the song into a real addressee and giving the performance an intimate, self-aware wink.
Craft
- anaphora
- The repeated 'I like / I love / I'm mad about' openings create a rhythmic accumulation that mimics casual conversation and builds charm through repetition rather than argument.
- direct address
- The recurring question posed to 'you' turns the song into an implied dialogue, making the listener complicit in the speaker's enumeration of tastes.
- topical allusion
- References to contemporary figures and consumer culture ground the song in a specific moment, giving it a wink of real-world specificity against the otherwise timeless list format.
- self-reference
- Naming his own spouse within the catalog of attractions collapses the distance between performer and persona, turning a generic pop list into a personal in-joke.
Reading it
The most persuasive reading treats this as a performance piece built around charm and topicality rather than deep emotional excavation: its pleasure lies in the specificity of its catalog and in Darin's evident enjoyment of personalizing a standard. An alternative reading might see the inclusion of his wife's name as a genuine romantic gesture, turning the song into a kind of public love note, though the surrounding playful tone suggests affectionate humor more than earnest confession.
Context
"How About You?" is a standard originally written by Burton Lane and Ralph Freed for the 1941 film Babes on Broadway, made famous by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Darin's 1961 version on Love Swings updates the lyric with contemporary references (including a nod to a political figure and consumer products of the era) and personalizes the closing verse with a reference to his own spouse, a common practice for vocalists customizing standards for live or recorded performance.
Listen for
- the way Darin's phrasing leans into the rhythmic, conversational cadence of the list format
- the shift from generic cultural references to the deeply personal mention of his wife
- the playful self-awareness in updating a 1940s standard with early-1960s touches
- the contrast between public topicality (political figure) and private intimacy (closing verse)
About Bobby Darin
Walden Robert Cassotto, known by the stage name Bobby Darin, was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed pop, swing, folk, rock and roll and country music.
1936 - 1973 / United States
Full biography and catalogue