101 Strings was an umbrella term for a highly successful easy listening sym… Read Full Bio ↴101 Strings was an umbrella term for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding a hundred albums and a creative lifetime of roughly thirty years. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence", a puffy cloud logo and sepia-toned photo of the orchestra. According to the photograph, the 101 Strings orchestra was composed of 124 string instruments (all male except for the harpist) and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan. The orchestra's famous official photograph was taken in the Musikhalle Hamburg. In reality, of course, the recordings also featured a full brass, woodwind and percussion section, and not quite as many strings as are shown in the photograph. In later years (right up to the 80's), the recordings were made by a session orchestra in London, with a line-up including a modern "pop" rhythm section. In the late 1990's, the 101 Strings Orchestra was revived with "The New 101 Strings Orchestra" for a series of modern recordings.

St Louis Blues
101 Strings Orchestra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I hate to see that evening sun go down
I hate to see that evening sun go down
Cause my baby, he's gone left this town

Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
If I'm feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
I'll pack my truck and make my give-a-way

St. Louis woman with her diamond ring
Pulls that man around by her, if it wasn't for her and her
That man I love would have gone nowhere, nowhere

I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me

I love my baby like a school boy loves his pie

Like a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye
I love my man till the day I die

Overall Meaning

These lyrics present the sadness and desperation of the singer who is facing a heartbreaking situation. The first line "I hate to see that evening sun go down" could be interpreted as a metaphor for the end of a relationship, as the night comes with darkness, so does the end for the singer. The repetition of this line emphasizes the sorrow and melancholy in the scene. The second line confirms that the reason for the misery is the departure of the singer's lover from the town. The following lines reveal the hopelessness of the situation. The singer feels that tomorrow will be the same as today and decides to leave town himself.

The chorus refers to a St. Louis woman with a diamond ring who has a hold on the man the singer loves. This woman is described as the reason for the lover's departure, and without her, he would have stayed with the singer. The singer is left to suffer from the St. Louis blues, which is a well-known phrase referring to a state of melancholy and depression. She describes her lover as having a heart as hard as a rock that is lost at the bottom of the sea, making it impossible for him to return. She loves her man deeply, just like the way a schoolboy loves his pie or a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye, which emphasizes the intensity of her feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

I hate to see that evening sun go down
I am filled with sorrow when the day comes to an end

Cause my baby, he's gone left this town
My lover has departed from this place and left me behind

Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
I anticipate that tomorrow will bring the same emotions as today

If I'm feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
Assuming that I feel the same tomorrow as I do today

I'll pack my truck and make my give-a-way
I will gather my belongings and leave this place behind

St. Louis woman with her diamond ring
A woman in St. Louis possesses an extravagant piece of jewelry

Pulls that man around by her, if it wasn't for her and her
She maneuvers her man around, and without her influence, he would not move

That man I love would have gone nowhere, nowhere
My adored one would be stuck without the assistance of that woman

I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be
I am filled with sadness that only the blues from St. Louis can convey

That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
My lover's heart is as immovable as a stone in the ocean

Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me
Had it been otherwise, he would not have abandoned me to such an extent

I love my baby like a school boy loves his pie
My affection for my darling is as intense as a schoolboy's passion for his dessert

Like a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye
My devotion to my loved one is as powerful as a Kentucky colonel's admiration for his beverage of choice

I love my man till the day I die
My love for my beloved will endure until my last breath

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, HANDY BROTHERS MUSIC CO.,INC., Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: William Christopher Handy

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS