"I'll Walk Alone" is a 1944 popular song with music by Jule
Styne and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song, like others that came
out during the World War II years such as "Till Then," reflects
the enforced separation of couples caused by the war. While
"Till Then" is written from the point of view of the soldier
wanting his lover to wait for him, "I'll Walk Alone" is written
from the point of view of the stay-at-home lover, promising to
be true.
Dinah Shore made the best-known version of this song,
introducing it in the Universal Studios film "Follow the Boys"
and taking it to the top of the charts (her first #1 hit) for
four weeks in 1944, and in fact recorded the song in the early
1960s as well. Martha Tilton also fared well, placing the song
in Billboard's Top Ten. Oddly, when the song was revived in the
1950s, it was often done by male singers, with a very popular
version being done by Don Cornell (1952 top ten).
Oddly, teen idol Ricky Nelson recorded a version for his
1958 album Ricky Nelson
For the film,
Flags of Our Fathers, director Clint Eastwood sings his
version of the song on the soundtrack.