Shaw first gained critical acclaim with his "Interlude in B-flat" at a swing concert at the Imperial Theater in New York in 1935. During the Swing Era, Shaw's big band was popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine" (1938), "Stardust" (with a legendary trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield), "Back Bay Shuffle", "Moonglow", "Rosalie" and "Frenesi." He was an innovator in the big band idiom, using unusual instrumentation; "Interlude in B-flat", where he was backed with only a rhythm section and a string quartet, was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed third stream.
In addition to hiring Buddy Rich, he signed Billie Holiday as his band's vocalist in 1938, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. However, after recording "Any Old Time" she left the band due to hostility from audiences in the South, as well as from music company executives who wanted a more mainstream singer. His band became enormously successful, and his playing was eventually recognized as equal to that of Benny Goodman: Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard cited Shaw as his favorite clarinet player. In response to Goodman's nickname, the "King of Swing", Shaw's fans dubbed him the "King of the Clarinet." Shaw, however, felt the titles were reversed. "Benny Goodman played clarinet. I played music," he said.
Artie Shaw and his band playing "Everything's Jumping" from Second Chorus (1940)Shaw did in fact prize innovation and exploration in music more highly than popular success and formulaic dance music, despite a string of hits which sold more than 100 million records. He fused jazz with classical music by adding strings to his arrangements, experimented with bebop, and formed "chamber jazz" groups that utilized such novel sounds as harpsichords or Afro-Cuban music.
The long series of musical groups Shaw formed included such talents as vocalists Billie Holiday, Helen Forrest and, Mel Tormé; drummers Buddy Rich and Dave Tough, guitarists Barney Kessel, Jimmy Raney, and Tal Farlow and trombonist-arranger Ray Conniff, among countless others. He composed the morose "Nightmare", with its Hassidic nuances, for his personal theme, rather than more approachable songs. In a televised interview of the 1970s, Shaw derided the often "asinine" songs that bands were compelled to play night after night even though he did write the anthem for Rav Meir Kahane's' JDL . In 1994, he told Frank Prial (The New York Times), "I thought that because I was Artie Shaw I could do what I wanted, but all they wanted was 'Begin the Beguine.'
I Surrender Dear
Artie Shaw and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sworn enemy of love
Kept my lips from saying
Things I was thinking of.
But now my pride you've humbled,
I've cast it to the winds,
Broken, beaten, sick at heart
My confession begins.
We've played the game of stay away
But it cost more that I can pay.
Without you I can't make my way,
I surrender, dear.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I surrender, dear.
Little mean things we were doing
Must have been part of the game,
Lending a spice to the wooing,
But I don't care who's to blame.
When stars appear and shadows fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
To you my love, my life, my all
I surrender, dear.
We've played the game of stay away
But it cost more that I can pay.
Without you I can't make my way,
I surrender, dear.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I surrender, dear.
Little mean things we were doing
Must have been part of the game,
Lending a spice to the wooing,
But I don't care who's to blame.
When stars appear And shadows fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
To you my love, my life, my all
The lyrics to Artie Shaw and His Orchestra's "I Surrender Dear" are a heartfelt confession of love from the perspective of someone who has always had too much pride to admit their true feelings. The opening lines describe this pride as a "sad, splendid liar" and the "sworn enemy of love" that has kept the singer from saying the things they were truly thinking. However, after being humbled, the singer now casts their pride to the wind and begins to confess their love.
The chorus speaks of the game of "stay away" that the two lovers have been playing, but now the singer admits that they cannot make their way without the other person. It's clear that this prideful behavior was just a facade, as the singer admits that "deep down in [their] heart," they always knew that they would surrender to love. Even the little "mean things" that the two of them did to each other as part of the game of love were just a spicy element to the wooing. The song ends on a plea to the other person to take them back, expressing that the singer's love, life, and all belong to them.
Overall, "I Surrender Dear" is a poignant and honest reflection on the sometimes-difficult journey towards romantic vulnerability. Its lyrics acknowledge the pain that can come from holding back one's true feelings, as well as the power of finally letting go and giving oneself over to love.
Line by Line Meaning
Pride, sad, splendid liar,
My pride has caused me to lie to myself, and now it saddens me.
Sworn enemy of love
My stubborn pride has prevented me from admitting my love for you.
Kept my lips from saying
I've been afraid to express my true feelings to you.
Things I was thinking of.
I have been keeping my thoughts and emotions hidden from you.
But now my pride you've humbled,
You have helped me to see the error of my ways and admit my love for you.
I've cast it to the winds,
I have let go of my pride and am ready to be honest with you.
Broken, beaten, sick at heart
My pride has caused me great emotional pain and turmoil.
My confession begins.
I am ready to confess my love for you.
We've played the game of stay away
We have been trying to stay apart from each other.
But it cost more that I can pay.
The cost of staying away from you has become too great for me to bear.
Without you I can't make my way,
I realize that I need you in my life to be happy and fulfilled.
I surrender, dear.
I am ready to surrender my pride and admit my love for you.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
I may appear confident, but it's just a façade to hide my true feelings.
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
My confident act is not who I truly am.
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
Despite my pose, I truly love you.
Little mean things we were doing
We may have played games with each other in the past.
Must have been part of the game,
Our games were a part of our courtship, but now they no longer matter.
Lending a spice to the wooing,
Our games added excitement to our courtship.
But I don't care who's to blame.
I don't care anymore who was at fault for our past conflicts and games.
When stars appear and shadows fall,
In the quiet of night, when all is still, I am reminded of my love for you.
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
In those quiet moments, I am calling out to you with all my heart.
To you my love, my life, my all
You mean everything to me, my love and my life revolve around you.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Integrity Music
Written by: GORDON CLIFFORD, HARRY BARRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind