As a youth, Carter lived in Harlem around the corner from Bubber Miley who was Duke Ellington's star trumpeter. Carter was inspired by Miley and bought a trumpet, but when he found he couldn't play like Miley he traded the trumpet in for a saxophone.
Carter began playing professionally at 15. He first recorded in 1928 and formed his first big band the following year. He played with Fletcher Henderson in 1930 and 1931, then briefly led McKinney's Cotton Pickers before returning to lead his own band in 1932. The few recordings his band made between 1933 and 1934 are considered by most jazz scholars to be milestones in early swing arranging. They were sophisticated and very complex arrangements, and a number of them became swing standards which were performed by other bands ("Blue Lou" is a great example of this.) He also arranged for Henderson and Duke Ellington during these years and wrote two hits, "Blues in My Heart" and "When Lights are Low." By the early 1930s he and Johnny Hodges were considered the leading alto players of the day. Carter also quickly became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930s. Also, in 1933, Carter took part in an amazing series of sessions that featured the British band leader Spike Hughes, who came to New York specifically to organize a series of recordings featuring the best Black musicians available. These 14 sides were only issued in England at that time, though they are available on CD and worthwhile looking for. (The musicians were mainly made up from member of Carter's band and from Luis Russell's.)
In 1935 he moved to Europe, where he became staff arranger for the British Broadcasting Corporation dance orchestra and made several records. He returned to the United States in 1938 and led a big band and sextet before moving to Los Angeles in 1943 to write for movie studios. Carter continued writing and performing into his 90s. He arranged for Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Sarah Vaughan, among many others.
His biggest hit was "Cow Cow Boogie", a song he co-wrote with Don Raye and Gene DePaul, which was a hit for Ella Mae Morse in 1942.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Carter was one of the first black men to compose music for films. He was an inspiration and a mentor for Quincy Jones when Jones began writing for television and films in the 1960s. Also in the 1940s, Carter's successful legal battles in order to obtain housing in then-exclusive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area made him a pioneer in an entirely different area.
He also appears uncredited in the 1952 film, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, as a sax player.
Carter was admired for his ability to write saxophone solis, which are sections of music that the entire section plays as one unit in the manner of a solo.
Carter was a member of the music advisory panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also a member of the Black Film Makers' Hall of Fame and in 1980 received the Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers. Carter was also a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1996 and received honorary doctorates from Princeton, Harvard, Rutgers, and the New England Conservatory.
He died, aged 95, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles of what is thought to have been bronchitis.
These foolish things
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh! Will you never set me free?
The ties that bound us
Are still around us
There's no escape that I can see
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fair ground's painted swings
These foolish things remind me of you
You came you saw you conquer'd me
When you did that to me
I knew somehow this had to be
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
First daffodils and long excited cables
And candle lights on little corner tables
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The beauty that is Spring's
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
The song These Foolish Things is a timeless classic that tells the tale of a lost love. The lyrics convey a sense of longing and nostalgia for someone who is still present in the singer's thoughts and memories. The opening lines "Oh! Will you never let me be? Oh! Will you never set me free?" set the overall tone of the song as one of yearning, desperation, and resignation. The ties that bind the singer and their lost love seemingly have not been broken, and they are unable to escape the feelings and memories that continue to plague them.
As the song progresses, the singer describes the little things that trigger memories of their lost love, such as a cigarette bearing a lipstick's traces or an airline ticket to romantic places. These things bring them both happiness and pain. The singer's heart has wings, yet it's grounded by the memories that keep them tied to their lost love. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the things that remind the singer of their love, such as the tinkling piano in the next apartment or the fairground's painted swings.
In the final stanza, the lyrics take on an almost desperate tone, with the singer listing all the things that remind them of their lost love. The scent of smouldering leaves, the wail of steamers, and two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers all serve to evoke memories of what was lost. The final line, "Oh, how the ghost of you clings! These foolish things remind me of you," is a powerful and poignant reminder of how difficult it can be to let go of lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh! Will you never let me be?
Oh! Will you never allow me to be free from the ties that still bind us?
Oh! Will you never set me free?
Oh! Will you never allow me the freedom to escape the ties that still bind us?
The ties that bound us
Are still around us
There's no escape that I can see
The connections between us that once held us together still remain and I can see no way of escaping from them.
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain
Even amidst the ties that bind us, the little things that we shared - whether of joy or sorrow - stay with me.
A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
Small material objects that remind me of the days and moments I shared with you - be it a cigarette stained with your lipstick or an old airline ticket relevant to both of us - keep our memories alive, reminding me of you as always.
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fair ground's painted swings
These foolish things remind me of you
The sounds of our surroundings, such as the nearby piano, words I once stumbled upon while professing my love for you, or carnival swings in the air, remind me of you all the time.
You came you saw you conquer'd me
When you did that to me
I knew somehow this had to be
When I first saw you and you conquered me with your charm and beauty, I knew that our paths had crossed for a reason and that we were meant to be together.
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
The winds of March that make my heart sing, or even ring of unknown callers to whom I hesitate to respond - all remind me of you always, and how I am still haunted by the thought of you.
First daffodils and long excited cables
And candle lights on little corner tables
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
Even amidst the new flowering of daffodils and the long messages on wires, or the quiet romantic evening turn with candles on small tables, my heart still yearns for you and flies with the memory of you.
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The beauty that is Spring's
These foolish things remind me of you
The beautiful park at sundown when the bell has sounded, memories of the "Ile de France" with seagulls all around in flight, all reminiscent of Spring, bring back memories of you.
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
It's strange and sweet to still find you in my thoughts as I hold onto the memories of the past that seem to be closer to me when I think of you.
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
The late night trains echoing through empty stations or even the stockings thrown aside in the middle of a dance all remind me of the ghost of you that still clings onto me even long past our time together.
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
Even the fragrance of gardenia that lingers on a pillow or the sight of wild strawberries being sold, all keep my heart soaring and remind me of the memories of you.
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things remind me of you
The sight of Garbo's smile and the fragrance of roses, the whistling of waiters at the end of a night in a bar and even the song that Crosby sings - all bring memories of you that I can't escape from.
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
It's strange and sweet to still find you in my thoughts as I hold onto the memories of the past that seem to be closer to me when I think of you.
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
Even as the scent of burning leaves wafts through the air, or lovers walk down the street lost in a dream - the ghost of you still clings to me and reminds me of everything we shared.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind