"Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" is a song composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Phil Silvers, called, originally, "Bessie (With The Laughing Face)".[1] It was originally recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1944. Many, perhaps most, people—including, for a time, Sinatra himself—wrongly assume or assumed the song was composed specifically for Sinatra's wife or daughter, each named Nancy; the adjustment in name indeed was inspired by Sinatra's daughter.