Stardust

Jason Paul / Come Explore With Me LP Cover

Jason Paul’s acoustic interpretation of the Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish classic “Stardust.” Listen now on Spotify and watch the full lyric video on YouTube.

About the Song “Stardust”

Stardust was composed in 1927 by Hoagy Carmichael as an instrumental, inspired by his time at Indiana University. In 1929, lyricist Mitchell Parish added the now-famous words. The song’s wistful melody and poetic lyrics quickly captured public imagination. Over the decades, it has been recorded by Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Louis Armstrong, and even modern artists seeking to interpret its haunting beauty. Today, “Stardust” is regarded as one of the most recorded songs in history and remains a central piece of the Great American Songbook.

Jason Paul’s Version

This recording appears on Come Explore With Me, my collection of American standards expressed through my own sensibility. The arrangement is deliberately intimate: finger-plucked acoustic guitar, a groove-oriented bass feel, and tasteful additions by producer Craig Levy — warm synthesizers and a subtle beat that blend tradition with a modern texture. The lyric video was filmed by my two daughters (ages 10 and 7) during a walk at Chance Cove Beach in Newfoundland, capturing the open-air feeling of the performance.

Stardust by Jason Paul – Hoagy Carmichael cover

Why I Chose “Stardust”

While working through a songbook I inherited from my aunt — a pianist who passed away at 104 — I was making steady progress with classic standards. Then I encountered “Stardust,” and it stopped me in my tracks. The melody felt impossibly complex, with phrases that seemed to avoid repetition. I had never encountered a song structure like this before.

Determined to learn it, I explored Carmichael’s own playful and idiosyncratic recording, Mel Tormé’s intricate later-career interpretation, and Willie Nelson’s stripped-down, sincere take. Nelson’s version, in particular, revealed the strength of delivering the song plainly, allowing the melody and words to speak for themselves. For my performance, I began near the bottom of my vocal range to make room for the soaring high phrases later. This approach kept the emotion centered and avoided over-arranging such a delicate piece.

“Stardust” in Popular Culture

The song’s influence extends beyond jazz and pop. It has appeared in films like The Natural and Good Night, and Good Luck, in television programs, and in countless commercials and documentaries as shorthand for romance and nostalgia. Musicians in nearly every genre have attempted it — from orchestral versions with sweeping strings to solo guitar arrangements. This adaptability is part of what makes “Stardust” endure across generations.

Watch and Listen

Credits

  • Songwriters: Hoagy Carmichael (music), Mitchell Parish (lyrics)
  • Performance: Jason Paul
  • Producer: Craig Levy
  • Video Filming: Kaia Sabina & Akasha Guzman

Stardust Chords and Lyrics (Jason Paul Studio Version)

Here’s the ChordPro format for my studio version of “Stardust,” in case you’d like to play it yourself. This arrangement uses a capo on the first fret.

{title:Stardust}
{subtitle:Words: Mitchell Parish; Music: Hoagy Carmichael}

(Capo on first fret in my studio version)

{c:Verse}
[C]And now the purple dusk of [F7]twilight time [E7]steals across the meadows of my [A7]heart. 
[Dm]High up [G7]in the sky the [C]little stars [Am]climb, [B7]always reminding me that [Em]we're a- [G7]part.
[C]You wandered down the lane and [F7]far away, [E7]leaving me a song that will not [A7]die. 
[Dm7]Love is [G7]now the stardust [C]of yester- [Am]day, [Dm7]the music [G7]of the years gone [C]by.

{c:Chorus}
Sometimes I [F]wonder why I spend the lonely [Fm]night... dreaming of a song; 
The [C]melody [Em7]haunts my reve- [A7]rie, [Dm]and I am once a- [A7]gain with [Dm]you, 
when our [G7]love was [Gdim]new [G7]and each kiss an inspir- [C]ation. 
But [D7]that was long ago; Now my consolation is [G7]in the [Dm7]stardust of a [G7]song. [Gdim] [G7] [C+]Be
[F]side a garden wall when stars are [Fm]bright; You are in my arms, 
the [C]nightingale [Em]tells his [Em7]fairy [A7]tale [Dm]of paradise where [A7]roses [Dm]grew. 
Though I [Fm]dream in vain, in my [C]heart [G]it [Am]will [C]re- [B7]main [Dm6] [E7] [C+]my
[F]stardust melo- [A7]dy, [D7] [G7]the memory of love's re- [C]frain. [Fm] [C]

{tag:1927}
{tag:1929}
{tag:Hoagy Carmichael}

Press play to experience Jason Paul’s full studio version of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” — a cinematic lyric video filmed on a windswept beach by his two daughters.

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