That old black magic has me in its spell, That old black magic that you weave so well; Icy fingers up and down my spine, The same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.

Everybody had to get up too early. In 1961 he wrote the lyrics to "Moon River" for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and for Days of Wine and Roses both with music by Henry Mancini and Mercer received his third and fourth Oscars for Best Song. Paul Whiteman lured Mercer back to his orchestra (to sing write comic skits and compose songs) temporarily breaking up the working team with Carmichael.

From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He is best known as a lyricist but he also composed music.