He was born in New York City (but grew up in New Haven, Connecticut) and began learning the saxophone when he was 15 and by age 16, had begun to tour with a band. He reached Hollywood the first time, as a sideman with Irving Aaronson's band in 1931, performing at the famous Orange Blossom Room (site of the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929). Returning to New York City in1932, he became a highly in-demand session musician, working for example as one of just a handful of accompanists to Bing Crosby's first signature radio show for William S. Paley's already powerful and influential CBS radio network. Ultimately, Artie (who was known strictly as "Art" Shaw until his fortuitous Summer, 1938 contract with RCA Victor records' Bluebird label commenced) organized and led five, full-time touring orchestras that were all extremely popular -save the last, from 1949, with its be-bop oriented book. Ironically, that final Shaw-led big band (populated with players like Al Cohn), is considered by most jazz critics to have been Artie's best. With time out to lead a Navy service band (in the Pacific combat theater) during WWII, Shaw's actual big band- leading career lasted less than a decade overall -yet, it was a remarkably productive one, populated with some fourteen "Gold" records. These included such mega-hits as "Begin the Beguine", "Stardust", "Frenesi", "Moonglow", "Temptation", "Dancing In The Dark" and "Summit Ridge Drive" -the latter by his famous quintet billed as the Gramercy 5.
Shaw was known for being an innovator in the big band idiom, pioneering strings with jazz and using unusual instrumentations. His Summer, 1935 piece "Interlude in B-flat" was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed "third stream". In 1938 he convinced Billie Holiday to be his band's vocalist, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. This 1938-1939 orchestra became phenomenonally successful and appeared in the movie "Dancing Co-ed" which also featured one of his future wives, Lana Turner, in the cast. Artie's clarinet playing, had by now reached a level that was arguably the greatest in jazz, easily rivaling that of Benny Goodman. Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard, himself a highly talented musician -cited Shaw (in 1940) as his "favorite" clarinet player. Literally abandoning his famous 1938-1939 band at the absolute peak of its' fame and earning power (Artie, just himself alone pulling down more than $10K per week) in late November, 1939, Shaw "abdicated" to Acapulco, Mexico. Returning to the U.S. he organized an entirely new orchestra, with full string section in the Summer of 1940. A truly stellar aggregation, it lasted until mid-1941, featuring stars Billy Butterfield, Johnny Guarneiri, Nick Fatool and Ray Conniff as principal arranger. This outfit can be prominently seen in the RKO film "Second Chorus" starring Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard. The final pre-war Shaw band, started in late, 1941, had Davey Tough and Hot Lips Page and big hits on St. James Infirmary Blues and Blues In The NIght. Artie broke this outstanding unit up shortly after Pearl Harbor so he could "enlist" in the Navy -refusing an offered commission. Back from the Navy, Shaw put together a new band that featured Roy Eldridge and an ambitious library stocked with arrangements by Eddie Sauter, Buster Harding, Ray Conniff and others. Hit records for this band included "Little Jazz" and "S'Wonderful" and by now Artie was married to Ava Gardner. His final public performances (as a clarinetist) took place in 1954, including with a sublime quartet in an extended Las Vegas booking. Apparently, he last picked up and played his fabled clarinet in about 1960 at his beach house in Spain (as recounted in final wife actress Evelyn Keyes' autobiography) and resisted all lucrative offers to return to the stage until finally fielding a "ghost" band under the highly capable aegis of outstanding clarinetist Dick Johnson in 1985. For about the first year, Artie often appeared on stage with this very fine orchestra at certain, prestigious bookings, but soon tired of the "grind" -and not to Dick Johnson's dismay. This now true "ghost" band is still appearing during Summer seasons (with much of the original Shaw "books"), principally in the New England area (Johnson lives in Boston) and is well worth seeing. Although he had more wives (8) than bands, Artie fell one wife short of Charlie Barnet's record (for a famous bandleadrer) of nine.
Lover Come Back To Me
Artie Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I let you
We broke the ties that bind
I wanted to forget you
And leave the past behind
Still, the magic of the night I met you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
And high above
The moon was new
And so was love
This eager heart of mine was singing
Lover where can you be
You came at last
Love had its day
That day is past
You've gone away
This aching heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I grow lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
In "Lover Come Back to Me," the singer expresses longing for a past love who has left them. They broke ties and tried to forget, but memories of the night they met continue to haunt the singer. The song starts with the singer acknowledging that they let their lover go, but they now deeply regret doing so. The night they met was magical in their mind, as evidenced by the fact that these memories have stayed with the singer. The second stanza is a nostalgic recollection of their love when it was new and full of promise. This memory evokes intense feelings of sadness and loneliness for the singer. Though they try to walk along new roads, they can't escape the ghost of their past relationship. Thus, the singer is singing out to their past lover, asking them to come back.
The chorus, "When I remember every little thing you used to do, I grow lonely," reiterates that the singer is consumed with thoughts of their past lover, and that even the simplest reminders of their relationship bring up overwhelming sadness. The last stanza reveals that even though it might be a new night with a fresh moon, the singer still longs for their old love. In conclusion, "Lover Come Back to Me" is a heartfelt ballad about the pain of lost love and the desire to reclaim it.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away
After you left, I started missing you
I let you
I didn't try to hold you back
We broke the ties that bind
We ended our relationship
I wanted to forget you
I tried to move on from you
And leave the past behind
I didn't want to dwell on our relationship
Still, the magic of the night I met you
The memory of meeting you is still powerful
Seems to stay forever in my mind
I can't forget that moment
The sky was blue
The weather was nice
And high above
In the sky
The moon was new
It was a new moon phase
And so was love
Our love was new and fresh
This eager heart of mine was singing
I was filled with excitement and joy
Lover where can you be
I was searching for you
You came at last
Finally, you were here with me
Love had its day
Our love was strong and passionate
That day is past
Our time together has come to an end
You've gone away
You left me
This aching heart of mine is singing
I am in pain and longing for you
Lover come back to me
I want you to return to me
When I remember every little thing
When I think of every memory we shared
You used to do
All the things you used to say and do
I'm so lonely
I feel isolated and alone
Every road I walk along
No matter where I go
I walk along with you
I feel like you are with me
No wonder I am lonely
It's understandable that I feel this way
The night is cold
The temperature outside is chilly
But love is old
Our love may have ended, but it still exists
And while I'm waiting here
As I wait for you to return
This heart of mine is singing
My heart is still filled with love for you
Lover come back to me
I am begging you to come back to me
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DistroKid, TuneCore Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind