He attended a school for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas where he joined… Read Full Bio ↴He attended a school for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas where he joined the school choir. He won an amateur talent contest in Memphis, Tennessee and at first worked with local bands, as well as starting a band of his own. In 1942 he joined a band led by Jay McShann, and the next year he joined Duke Ellington's band, replacing Herb Jeffries. He worked eight years with Ellington before becoming a soloist. Some of his singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is really best classified as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music.

His biggest hit was "Unchained Melody" in 1955. Other hits were "He", "11th Hour Melody", "Never Turn Back", and "After the Lights Go Low" (all in 1956). "After the Lights Go Low", sung with a put-on British accent, was his last charted hit.

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Hibbler became a civil rights activist, marching with protestors and getting arrested in 1959 in New Jersey and in 1963 in Alabama. The notoriety of this activism discouraged major record labels from carrying his work, but Frank Sinatra supported him and signed him to a contract with his label, [lable]Reprise Records.

However, Hibbler made very few recordings after that, occasionally doing live appearances through the 1990s. He died in April 2001 in Chicago.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Al Hibbler Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Missed the Saturday dance
Heard they crowded the floor
Couldn't bear it without you
Don't get around much anymore

Though I'd visit the club
Got as far as the door
They'd have asked me about you

Don't get around much anymore

Darling, I guess my mind's more at ease
But nevertheless why stir up memories?

Been invited on dates
Might have gone but what for?

Awf'lly diff'rent without you
Don't get around much anymore

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Al Hibbler's song Don't Get Around Much Anymore are about a person who used to frequent dance clubs with a loved one but now no longer goes out. The singer misses the dance and has heard how crowded the floor is, but can't bear to go alone without the loved one. The singer wants to visit the club but can only make it as far as the door. The club-goers will undoubtedly ask about the loved one, which makes the singer uneasy. The singer's mind is more at ease now without the loved one, but doesn't want to stir up old memories. The singer has even been invited on dates, but the thought of going without the loved one feels quite different.

The lyrics in the song tell us that the singer feels lonely now that the loved one is no longer around. The club was probably a place where the singer went to dance and have fun, but now it is only a lonely place without them. The singer misses the person so much that they are reluctant to even step inside the club because it would remind them of the good times they had together. The lyrics are melancholic and evoke feelings of nostalgia, missing someone, and the inability to move on.

Line by Line Meaning

Missed the Saturday dance
I didn't go to the dance on Saturday

Heard they crowded the floor
I heard the dance was very crowded

Couldn't bear it without you
I couldn't stand being there without you

Don't get around much anymore
I don't go out as much as I used to

Though I'd visit the club
I thought about going to the club

Got as far as the door
I only made it to the door

They'd have asked me about you
People would have asked me about you

Don't get around much anymore
I don't go out as much as I used to

Darling, I guess my mind's more at ease
I feel more relaxed now

But nevertheless why stir up memories?
But why bring up old memories?

Been invited on dates
I've been asked out on dates