How Deep Is the Ocean?
original song written and composed by Irving Berlin
"How Deep Is the Ocean?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1932. The song was developed from an earlier Berlin song "To My Mammy" which was sung by Al Jolson in his film Mammy (1930). In the earlier song, the lyrics include the questions "How deep is the ocean? / How high is the sky?" and this was the genesis of "How Deep Is the Ocean?".
Background
The song was written at a low point in Irving Berlin's professional and personal life, and is among the select few of his numbers that were introduced on the radio rather than on stage or film. This song, together with "Say It Isn't So", were huge hits in 1932 and brought Berlin back to the top again.
Lyrics
The lyrics opens with a question "How much do I love you?" and the statement "I'll tell you no lie." The rest of the song is a series of rhetorical questions (including the title "How deep is the ocean?" twice) which implicitly answer the opening question to be a lot.
Early recordings
Popular versions of "How Deep Is the Ocean?" in 1932 were by Guy Lombardo (vocal by Carmen Lombardo), Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (with vocals by Jack Fulton), Rudy Vallée and Ethel Merman. Bing Crosby was another who recorded the song for Brunswick on October 14, 1932. In the 1940s Alfredo Antonini and his orchestra collaborated with Victoria Cordova and John Serry Sr.
The public source identifies “How Deep Is the Ocean?” as original song written and composed by Irving Berlin. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Deep, Ocean and original.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “How Deep Is the Ocean?”, the useful work is to connect “original song written and composed by Irving Berlin” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4352749. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1932 and 1930.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “How Deep Is the Ocean?”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow How Deep Is the Ocean? primary sources, How Deep Is the Ocean? archive and Deep research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “How Deep Is the Ocean?”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “How Deep Is the Ocean?” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.