"
It's Only a Paper Moon" is a
popular song written by
Harold Arlen and published in 1933, with lyrics by
E. Y. Harburg and
Billy Rose. It was written originally for an unsuccessful
Broadway play called
The Great Magoo, set in Coney Island. It was subsequently used in the movie
Take a Chance, in 1933, and
Paul Whiteman recorded a successful version, sung by Peggy Healey. But its lasting fame stems from recordings by popular artists during the last years of
World War II, when versions by
Ella Fitzgerald and the
Nat King Cole Trio became popular. It has endured as a vehicle for improvisation by many jazz musicians.