Bigard was born in New Orleans and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. He moved to Chicago in the early 1920s, where he worked with "King" Joe Oliver and others. During this period, much of his recording with Oliver and others including clarinetist Johnny Dodds was on tenor saxophone, an instrument he played often with great lyricism, as on Oliver's hit recording of "Someday Sweetheart." In 1927 he joined Duke Ellington's band in New York, where he stayed until 1942. With Ellington, he was the featured clarinet soloist, while also doing some section work on tenor. After leaving Ellington, he moved to Los Angeles, California and did sound track work, including an onscreen featured role with an allstar band led by Louis Armstrong in the 1946 film "New Orleans." He began working with trombonist Kid Ory's band during the late 1940s, and later worked with Louis Armstrong's touring band, the All Stars, and others. He died in Culver City, California. Bigard wrote an autobiography entitled "With Louis And The Duke," and he is credited as composer or co-composer on several numbers, notably the Ellington standard 'Mood Indigo".
Tea for Two
Barney Bigard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Darling this place is a lover's oasis where life's weary chase is unknown.
Far from the cry of the city, where flowers pretty caress the streams,
Cozy to hide in, to love side-by-side in. Don't let it abide in my dreams.
Picture you upon my knee, just tea for two and two for tea,
Just me for you and you for me, alone!
Nobody near us, to see us or hear us,
We won't have it known, dear, that we have a telephone, dear.
Day will break and you'll awake and start to bake
A sugar cake for me to take for all the boys to see.
We will raise a family, a boy for you, a girl for me,
Oh, can't you see how happy life would be?
You are revealing a plan so appealing I can't help but falling for you,
Darling, I planned it
Can't you understand it is yours to command it, so do.
All of your schemes I'm admiring, they're worth desiring but can't you see,
I'd like to wait there for some future date dear
It won't be too late, dear, for me.
Picture you upon my knee, just tea for two and two for tea,
Just me for you and you for me, alone!
Nobody near us, to see us or hear us,
No friends or relations on weekend vacations,
We won't have it known, dear, that we have a telephone, dear.
Day will break and you'll awake and start to bake
A sugar cake for me to take for all the boys to see.
We will raise a family, a boy for you, a girl for me,
Oh, can't you see how happy life would be?
In this song, Tony Bennett sings about how he is discontented with rented houses, so he has decided to build his own. He finds his constructed place to be a perfect lover's oasis where they can escape from the chaos of the city and relax in a cozy home surrounded by beautiful flowers and streams. He imagines a life with his lover where they have tea for two, accompanied only by each other’s company and far away from anyone who might interrupt their blissful isolation, including friends and family. They even plan to keep their telephone a secret so that no one can interfere with their time together.
The lyrics paint a picturesque dream of a life with a family, where they have children to raise together, and they will be happy forever. Bennett wants to wait for his lover and take their time in starting a family. The lyrics depict a beautiful picture of love and companionship, which Bennett longs for with his significant other.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm discontented with homes that are rented so I have invented my own.
I am unhappy with living in rented homes, so I have decided to create my own living space.
Darling this place is a lover's oasis where life's weary chase is unknown.
My dear, this place is a sanctuary for lovers where the stresses of life are unknown.
Far from the cry of the city, where flowers pretty caress the streams,
It is situated far away from the noise of the city, where beautiful flowers grow near the streams.
Cozy to hide in, to love side-by-side in. Don't let it abide in my dreams.
It's a cozy place where we can hide and love each other. I don't want it to remain a dream.
Picture you upon my knee, just tea for two and two for tea, Just me for you and you for me, alone!
Imagine us sitting together, having tea for two. It's just me and you, and we're alone together!
Nobody near us, to see us or hear us, No friends or relations on weekend vacations,
No one around to see or hear us, and no friends or family on the weekends.
We won't have it known, dear, that we have a telephone, dear.
We won't let anyone know that we have a telephone, my love.
Day will break and you'll awake and start to bake A sugar cake for me to take for all the boys to see.
When morning comes, you'll wake up and bake me a cake to take to the boys to show off.
We will raise a family, a boy for you, a girl for me, Oh, can't you see how happy life would be?
We'll start a family, a son for you and a daughter for me. Oh, don't you see how happy our lives would be?
You are revealing a plan so appealing I can't help but falling for you, Darling, I planned it; can't you understand it is yours to command it, so do.
Your plan is so captivating that I can't help but fall in love with you. But my love, I need you to know that even though it was your idea, it's yours to take command of.
All of your schemes I'm admiring, they're worth desiring but can't you see, I'd like to wait there for some future date dear; it won't be too late, dear, for me.
I admire all of your plans, they're worth wanting. But my love, I need you to know that I'd prefer to wait for a future date. And don't worry, it won't be too late for me.
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Javier Martinez Moreno
Anybody knows the year this was recorded? And the rest of fellow musicians?