I met him one night while I lived in the West Palm Beach, Florida area. I was at the bar at a popular night spot in old Palm Beach called Chuck and Harold's. They featured a sidewalk-side eating area and a black and white checkered terrazzo floor that went past an elegant bar that led to an open-air dancing floor. Booths were arranged around the dancefloor and the richest of the rich drank their martinis and swooned to the music of a full orchestra. And there he was, Billy Butterfield, at the end of his career but still playing a number or two as the featured entertainer with the house orchestra. He thanked me for his drink, played "Rosalie", from the Conniff album and then sort of disappeared, as though he only a few of these songs left in him. But he was as great as Al Hirt, Bobby Hackett and Doc Severenson, all rolled into one. Catch him on Conniff Meets Butterfield, you won't be sorry.
Prelude To A Kiss
Billy Butterfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A song in blue
Like a flower crying
For the dew
That was my heart serenading you
My prelude to a kiss
If you hear a song that grows
That was my heart trying to compose
A prelude to a kiss
Though it's just a simple melody
With nothing fancy
Nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
Oh how my love song gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss
Though it's just a simple melody
With nothing fancy
Nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
Oh how my love song so gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss
The lyrics to Billy Butlers' song 'Prelude to a Kiss' are a beautiful expression of love's gentleness and humility. The song opens by describing the singer's bluesy heart, crying out like a flower in need of a dew. The tender, sentimental melody that follows is the songwriter's way of expressing love's hidden desire. The lyrics hint at the simplicity and beauty of love, suggesting that even the most basic emotions can be elevated to the height of art.
Throughout the song, the singer describes the various forms that this love can take. The prelude to a kiss is compared to a simple melody and referenced to Schubert tunes and Gershwin touches, conveying the idea that love, while delicate and small, can still be grandiose and magnificent when properly attended to. The lyricist also metaphorically compares love to a symphony, illustrating its vast and complete nature.
The song concludes with a touching line in which the writer expresses his belief that his love will never die, always remaining a prelude to a kiss. The line is reminiscent of the Roman poet Virgil's famous line, "Love conquers all," suggesting that love, though small, can overcome even the greatest obstacles.
Line by Line Meaning
If you hear
In case you happen to hear
A song in blue
A melancholic tune
Like a flower crying
Similar to a flower that is crying for the morning dew
For the dew
Yearning for something that is absent or far-off
That was my heart serenading you
It was my heart expressing love to you through music
My prelude to a kiss
An introduction to the feeling that comes with a kiss
If you hear a song that grows
If you hear a tune that increases in intensity
From my tender sentimental woes
That has sprung from my sentimental troubles
That was my heart trying to compose
It was my heart trying to create music
A prelude to a kiss
A musical preface to the feeling associated with a kiss
Though it's just a simple melody
Even though it is a basic tune
With nothing fancy
Without any ornamentation
Nothing much
Nothing spectacular
You could turn it to a symphony
It can be transformed into a grand musical arrangement
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
An exquisite composition with a touch of both Shubert and Gershwin's styles
Oh how my love song gently cries
How my song of love softly expresses sorrow
For the tenderness within your eyes
For the soft and gentle touch within your gaze
My love is a prelude that never dies
My love is an eternal musical foreword
A prelude to a kiss
A musical preface to the emotion associated with a kiss
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, IRVING MILLS, IRVING GORDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind