# Roy Croft

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roy_Croft
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roy_Croft.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Croft
> Source revision: 1355055161
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Roy Croft** (sometimes, Ray Croft) is a pseudonym frequently given credit for writing a poem titled "Love" that begins "I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you."[1] The poem, which is commonly used in Christian [wedding](/source/Wedding) speeches and readings, is quoted frequently. The poem is actually by [Mary Carolyn Davies](/source/Mary_Carolyn_Davies).[2] It was originally published in the Epworth Herald on October 26, 1918 with the title "To a Friend."[3] It was misattributed to the pseudonym "Roy Croft" in a 1936 anthology entitled *Best Loved Poems of American People* edited by [Hazel Felleman](/source/Hazel_Felleman), and published by Doubleday (ISBN 0-385-00019-7) and appears without further attribution in *The Family Book of Best Loved Poems*, edited by David L. George and published in 1952 by Doubleday & Company, Inc., then of Garden City, New York. Felleman corrected the mistake in her column for the *New York Times Book Review*, "Queries and Answers," in 1943, where she noted that "Davies is a resident of New York City and is the author of 'Love,' a poem that has been erroneously attributed to Roy Croft."[4] Erich Fried translated the poem into German.

The poem is also known as "Why Do I Love You?" and was popularized by WGN radio personality [Franklyn MacCormack](/source/Franklyn_MacCormack) in the 1950s. It is the title poem of his anthology, *Why Do I Love You? and Other Poems From my Old Book of Memories* (1948). MacCormack recorded himself reciting the poem with the orchestral music of [Hans Engelmann](/source/Hans_Engelmann)'s "[Melody of Love](/source/Melody_of_Love_(song))" in 1943.[5] It sold more than 4 million copies.[6]

## References

1. ["WeddingGuideUK.com - Love Poems, Readings and Quotations"](http://www.weddingguideuk.com/articles/wordsmusic/poems/lovepoems1a.asp). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090429020438/http://www.weddingguideuk.com/articles/wordsmusic/poems/lovepoems1a.asp) 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-26.

1. ["Mary Carolyn Davies"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-carolyn-davies). *Poetry Foundation*

1. Mary Carolyn Davies, "To a Friend," Epworth Herald, October 26, 1918, p. 1017.

1. “Queries and Answers,” NYTBR, May 2, 1943: BR31.

1. ["Melody of Love: Wayne King and his Orchestra"](https://archive.org/details/78_melody-of-love_wayne-king-and-his-orchestra-franklyn-maccormack-hans-engleman-mary_gbia0033211a). *[archive.org](/source/Archive.org)*

1. Bob Hughes (September 1, 1985). ["THE VOICE THAT WAS WAS PURE POETRY FOR ALL-NIGHT RADIO"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-09-01-8503030218-story.html). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roy Croft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Croft) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Croft?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.