[Sheet music] If You Were the Only Girl in the World

Sheet music for the song 'If You Were the Only Girl in the World', composed by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics written by Clifford Grey. The song was first published in 1916. It featured in the musical revue 'The Bing Boys Are Here' where it was performed by George Robey and Violet Loraine.

This copy of the sheet music is part of an anthology of music titled 'Songs that Won the War : Daily Express Community Songbook No. 3' collected and edited by S. Louis Giraud. The cover of the anthology features an embossed portrait of two soldiers in uniform.

George Robey had intended to sing this song in a way that would make people laugh but decided to sing the song with sincerity just before going on stage for the first performance (Harding, 1990, p.86). This song went on to become one of the biggest hits during the period of the First World War. It was also recorded and became a popular gramophone record.

The song was described in the Melbourne newspaper 'Table Talk' on 8 March 1917, as ‘a song rich in beauty of sentiment and expression…Will become the most popular song of the day in Australia…a song with a most taking rhythm and tune’.

Nathaniel Davis Ayer, more commonly known as Nat D. Ayer, was born in Boston, USA, on 5 August 1887. The composer, pianist and performer spent much of his career in England, and composed the music for several successful shows during the years of the First World War including 'The Bing Boys are Here', which was one of the biggest West End hits during the war. 'If you were the only girl in the world' was one of his most famous songs. He composed songs with Clifford Grey, Harry Williams and A. Seymour Brown.

Clifford Grey was born as Percival Davis and throughout his life was known as Clifford Grey, Tippey Grey and Tippy Gray. Throughout his career, he wrote the lyrics for over 3000 songs. He died of a heart attack after the concert party he was presenting in Ipswich, Suffolk, was bombed during the Second World War.


Towards the bottom of this page is a sound recording of this sheet music, or a parody, that was created as part of the Music and the First World War project. More information about this recording, including names of the performers, can be found on the catalogue record for the sound recording. A link to the catalogue record for the sound recording can be found at the bottom of this page, under the heading ‘Related objects’ where it can be identified with the prefix [sound recording].