The 1956 MGM film High Society was one of the most popular Hollywood musicals of the 1950s. An adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, it starred Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra, and featured songs by Cole Porter, who also wrote the lyrics. "True Love" was one of the hit numbers in the movie and was sung by Crosby and Kelly, whose appearance was her last on film before her highly publicized marriage to Prince Rainier. The soundtrack from High Society was issued in the U.S. in 1956 on Capitol Records and, not surprisingly, became a best-seller.

True Love is a touchingly romantic love song, its slow tempo, dreamy mood, and mostly subdued harmonies allowing the beautiful melody to soar, which it does with a disarming warmth with the words, "While I give to you and you give to me." The sense of yearning and love is more serene than fiery here, more lovely and mellow than fervid or torrid. In short, Porter's lyricism melts more than it pelts the emotions, his melody entrancing the mind's ear long after a single hearing. Needless to say, this is one of his more memorable songs.

© Robert Cummings, Rovi