Blithe Spirit

Irving Berlin’s “Always” serves as an important plot device in the play. The song was originally written in 1925 as a wedding gift for Berlin’s second wife. In the chorus of the song, Berlin’s pledges his devotion to his wife:

I’ll be loving you always

With a love that’s true always.

When the things you’ve planned

Need a helping hand

I will understand always.

Coward uses these lyrics both sincerely and ironically. Elvira appears to this song and initially seems drawn back to the living world to be with Charles because of her enduring devotion. Yet as the play unfolds, the impossibility of forever love is revealed. During the séance, Charles pleads “in a strained voice” that Madame Arcati not play the song (20). This foreshadows the reality of his first marriage. His loyalty is not everlasting, as Charles rejects Elvira and abandons Ruth, and Elvira reveals the extent of her affair. The play closes with the song playing as the house, representing the happy marriages of Charles, is destroyed by Elvira and Ruth.