The Impatient Years

Written for the 1955 NBC television production of Our Town, this reflective ballad considers the impatience of young love — the rushing forward before learning to appreciate what you have. It’s one of the quieter, more philosophical moments in the Cahn and Van Heusen catalog, Sinatra’s delivery finding every shade of rueful wisdom in the lyric.

A companion piece to “Love and Marriage” and “Look to Your Heart” from the same broadcast, completing a trio that together form one of the most cohesive single-evening contributions of the Cahn and Van Heusen partnership.