Arthur Arshawsky (23 May 1910 – 30 December 2004), better known as Artie Sh… Read Full Bio ↴Arthur Arshawsky (23 May 1910 – 30 December 2004), better known as Artie Shaw, was an accomplished jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and author.
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.

Without Your Love
Artie Shaw Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tear a star from out the sky
And the sky feels blue
Tear a petal from a rose
And the rose weeps, too

Take your heart away from mine
And mine will surely break
My life is yours to make

So please keep the spark awake

Would you take the wings from birds
So that they can't fly?
Would you take the ocean's roar
And leave just a sigh?

All this, your heart won't let you do
This is what I beg of you

Don't take your love from me
Don't take your love from me

Overall Meaning

The song "Don't Take Your Love From Me" is a heart-wrenching appeal to a lover not to abandon the person singing the song. The opening lines set the scene for the depth of emotion in the rest of the song by using metaphorical images of things being taken away and leaving a feeling of sadness or emptiness behind. The singer pleads that the lover does not take his/her love away because this would cause great heartache, as the singer's life is wholly dedicated to this love.

The lyrics then ask the question whether the lover would take the wings from birds or the sound from the ocean, appealing to the idea that some things cannot be changed without causing harm. The singer begs the lover not to take away the love that has been given so freely, emphasizing the intensity of the singer's feelings for the lover. The song ends on a tender and sincere note, as the singer beseeches the lover once again not to take away their love.

Overall, the song uses vivid imagery and emotional appeal to convey the singer's deep love and desperation to hold onto that love.

Line by Line Meaning

Tear a star from out the sky and the sky feels blue
Just like removing a star from the sky makes the sky lose its shine, taking away your love makes me feel blue.

Tear a petal from the rose and the rose weeps too
Just like a rose sheds a tear when a petal is torn off, my heart cries when you take away your love.

Take your heart away from mine and mine will surely break
If you take your heart away from me, it will break mine as well, for they have been beating together all this while.

My life is yours to take, so please keep the spark awake
I have given you my life and my heart, so please don't let the spark of our love die out. Keep the flame burning.

Would you take the wings from birds so that they can't fly?
Just like taking away the wings of a bird would make it unable to fly, please don't take away my love and make me unable to soar.

Would you take the ocean's roar and leave just a sigh?
Just like taking away the roar of the ocean would leave only a sigh, taking away your love would leave me with emptiness and despair.

All this, your heart won't let you do
I know deep in my heart that you won't let me go through the pain of losing your love.

This is what I beg of you
This is my sincere request, please don't take your love away from me.

Don't take your love from me
My heart knows only your love, so don't take it away from me.

Lyrics © INDANO MUSIC COMPANY, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henry Nemo

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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