When the World Was Young is a popular song composed by M. Philippe-Gerard, with lyrics by Angele Vannier. The English lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer

Johnny Mercer

John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...

. The original French title was "Le Chevalier de Paris".

English lyrics were originally written by Carl Sigman

Carl Sigman

Carl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...

, but these were rejected by the music publisher, Mickey Goldsen. Sigman suggested Mercer, and Mercer wrote the English lyrics (three verses and three choruses) in three days.

The song is from the perspective of an aging Parisian "boulevardier"/"couquette", as s/he reviews their life.

Notable recordings

• June Christy
  June Christy
  June Christy , born Shirley Luster, was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album Something Cool...
  
   - Gone for the Day
  Gone for the Day
  Gone for the Day is a 1957 studio album by singer June Christy. The songs were all arranged by her longtime collaborator Pete Rugolo.Gone for the Day was repackaged and released on August 25, 1998 as a part of a 2-albums-on-1-CD release along with Fair and Warmer!.- Track listing :#"It's So...
  
  (1957)
• Blossom Dearie
  Blossom Dearie
  Blossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
  
   - Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's
  Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's
  Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's is a 1966 live album by Blossom Dearie.Recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, this was Dearie's first live album.-Track listing:#"On Broadway" – 3:55...
  
  (1966)
• Aretha Franklin
  Aretha Franklin
  Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
  
   - Soft and Beautiful
  Soft and Beautiful
  Soft and Beautiful is a 1969 album by Aretha Franklin. The album comprised mostly previously unreleased material, recorded in the mid-1960s before Franklin moved to Atlantic Records. It reached Number 29 on Billboards R&B chart...
  
  (1969)
• Mel Tormé
  Mel Tormé
  Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
  
   - Tormé: A New Album
  Tormé: A New Album
  Tormé: A New Album is a 1977 studio album by Mel Tormé. The album has also been re-issued as, Mel Tormé: The London Sessions and with additional "bonus" tracks as A New Album, London Sessions Complete Edition....
  
  (1977)
• Nat King Cole
  Nat King Cole
  Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
  
   - Where Did Everyone Go?
  Where Did Everyone Go?
  Where Did Everyone Go? is a 1963 studio album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. This was the third and final album that Cole and Jenkins recorded together, following Love Is the Thing and The Very Thought of You ....
  
  (1963)
• Frank Sinatra
  Frank Sinatra
  Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
  
   Point of No Return
  Point of No Return (Frank Sinatra album)
  Point of No Return is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1962.As the title reflects, the album contains Sinatra's final recorded songs with Capitol Records before permanently moving to his own Reprise Records label to achieve more artistic freedom with his recordings.Indeed, he...
  
  (1962)