"These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input is probably limited to an alternative "middle eight" (bridge) which many performers prefer.

It is one of a group of "Mayfair songs", like "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". Maschwitz wrote the song under his pen name, Holt Marvell, for Joan Carr for a late-evening revue broadcast by the BBC. The copyright was lodged in 1936. Maschwitz was romantically linked to the Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong while working in Hollywood, and the lyrics are evocative of his longing for her after they parted and he returned to England.

Billie Holiday's rendering of the song with Teddy Wilson's orchestra was a favorite of Philip Larkin's, who said of it: "I have always thought the words were a little pseudo-poetic, but Billie sings them with such passionate conviction that I think they really become poetry.
Holiday's cover of the song peaked to No. 5 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart.