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.
You Took Advantage Of Me
Artie Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It must go to someone of course
It can't be sister or brother
And so I love my horse
But horses are frequently silly
Mine ran from the beach of Okhala
And left me alone for a filly
So I have picked you up
I'm a sentimental sap, that's all
What's the use of trying not to fall?
I have no will, you've made your kill
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm just like an apple on a bough
And you're gonna shake me down somehow
So, what's the use, you've cooked my goose
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm so hot and bothered that
I don't know my elbow from my ear
I suffer something awful each time
You go and much worse when you're near
Here I am with all my bridges burned
Just a babe in arms where you're concerned
So lock the doors and call me yours
Cause you took advantage of me.
I'm a sentimental sap, that's all
What's the use of trying not to fall?
I have no will, you've made your kill
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm just like an apple on a bough
And you're gonna shake me down somehow
So, what's the use, you've cooked my goose
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm so hot and bothered that
I don't know my elbow from my ear
I suffer something awful each time
You go and much worse when you're near
Here I am with all my bridges burned
Just a babe in arms where you're concerned
So lock the doors and call me yours
Cause you took advantage of me
You took advantage of me
The first few lines of the song seem random and disconnected, but they are actually setting up the metaphor that is used throughout the rest of the lyrics. The idea is that the singer's heart is like a mother, and it needs someone to love and care for. The singer first tries to love a horse, but quickly realizes that horses are not capable of reciprocating that love. The metaphor then shifts to the singer being like an apple on a bough, waiting to be shaken down by the person who has taken advantage of them.
The main theme of the song is about someone who has been taken advantage of by someone they love, and despite knowing this, they cannot resist their charms. The lyrics use clever wordplay to show how the singer has been manipulated and is now utterly vulnerable to the other person. They are a "sentimental sap" with "no will" who has had their "goose cooked" by the person who has taken advantage of them. They are left burnt and helpless, willing to do anything to please the person who has hurt them.
Line by Line Meaning
When a girl has the heart of a mother
When a girl has a nurturing nature
It must go to someone of course
It must be directed towards someone, naturally
It can't be sister or brother
It can't be directed towards siblings
And so I love my horse
And so I direct my nurturing nature towards my horse
But horses are frequently silly
However, horses can act foolishly
Mine ran from the beach of Okhala
My horse ran away from the Okhala beach
And left me alone for a filly
And left me alone for a young female horse
So I have picked you up
So I have turned my attention towards you instead
I'm a sentimental sap, that's all
I am an emotional person, that's just how I am
What's the use of trying not to fall?
What's the point of trying to resist?
I have no will, you've made your kill
I have no control over myself, you have already won me over
Cause you took advantage of me
Because you have used my emotional vulnerability against me
I'm just like an apple on a bough
I am just like an apple hanging from a tree branch
And you're gonna shake me down somehow
And you're going to figuratively shake me to get what you want from me
So, what's the use, you've cooked my goose
So what's the point, you have already ruined me
I'm so hot and bothered that
I am so agitated that
I don't know my elbow from my ear
I am disoriented and confused
I suffer something awful each time
I experience great pain and discomfort every time
You go and much worse when you're near
You leave and it's even worse when you are around
Here I am with all my bridges burned
Here I am with all my opportunities ruined
Just a babe in arms where you're concerned
I am completely dependent on you
So lock the doors and call me yours
So take control over me and claim me as yours
Cause you took advantage of me.
Because you have exploited me
You took advantage of me
You took advantage of me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind