Both composer and lyricist have claimed that their Oscar-winning song came very easily to them. The title of the film determined the melody, and as Mancini said in his autobiography, Did They Mention the Music? “It just came, it rolled out.” Mercer, too, says that he “could not get the words down fast enough.”

Andy Williams sang “The Days of Wine and Roses” on the film’s soundtrack and won a gold record for Columbia Records. His rendition charted for 12 weeks, peaking at #26, ahead of Mancini’s instrumental version which rose to #33. The song also received a Grammy for Song of the Year, and Mancini received Grammies for Record of the Year and Best Background Arrangement. The Best Song Oscar was the second for composer Henry Mancini and lyricist Johnny Mercer, who had won the 1961 Oscar for “Moon River” from the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The 1962 film The Days of Wine and Roses, based on J.P Miller’s “Playhouse 90” drama, received four other Academy Award nominations: Best Actor (Jack Lemmon), Best Actress (Lee Remick), Best Black-and-White Art Direction, Best Black-and-White Costumes. It deals effectively and realistically with the problems of alcoholism and the difficulties faced in recovery. Its title is derived from a 19th century poem by Ernest Dowson:

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for awhile, then closes
Within a dream

Mercer’s lyrics, set to Mancini’s poignant melody, portend the tragedy awaiting Lemmon and Remick:

The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play
Through the meadow land toward a closing door
A door marked “nevermore” that wasn’t there before

The song seems to appeal to guitarists since several have recorded it, among them Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, Jimmy Raney, John Abercrombie, Howard Roberts, and Bill Frisell. Vocalists Ernestine Anderson, Blossom Dearie, and Tony Bennett have recorded it, as well as pianists Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, bassist Ray Brown, and saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. Days of Wine and Roses is the title of the Maria Schneider Orchestra’s CD recorded live at the Jazz Standard and reissued in 2005.