Eckstine was an American jazz singer and bandleader who also played trumpet, valve trombone, and guitar. He also performed briefly as Billy X. Stine. His nickname was Mr. B. Although best known as a singer, his openness to new music made him a strong influence on modern jazz, particularly bebop, as he gave employment to many of the musicians who founded the style.
After singing with the Earl Hines band from 1939 to 1943 he led his own band from 1944 to 1947. The band featured at various times a large number of rising jazz stars, including:
Saxophones: Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Lucky Thompson, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Budd Johnson, Leo Parker
Trumpets: Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro
Drums: Art Blakey
Singers: Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan
Eckstine later formed an octet, then went solo, becoming a popular ballad singer while remaining an important figure in jazz. His huge, distinctive baritone made him one of the first African American singers to have mainstream success. He was the composer of the blues classic "Jelly, Jelly" and also recorded the R&B top hit "Stormy Monday Blues" in 1942 (not to be confused with T-Bone Walker's 1947 "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad)"). Most of his success as a singer came with ballads, including "Everything I have is Yours", "Blue Moon", "Caravan," "Prisoner of Love," "You Go to My Head," and "That Old Black Magic". His last hit was "Passing Strangers", a duet with Sarah Vaughan released in 1957.
Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. He designed and patented a high roll collar that formed a B over a Windsor-knotted tie, which became known as a Mr. B. Collar. In addition to looking cool, the collar expanded and contracted without popping open, which allowed his neck to swell while playing his horns. The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
In 1984, Eckstine recorded his final album, I Am A Singer, featuring beautiful ballads arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo.
Skylark
Billy Eckstine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have you anything to say to me?
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
Where someone's waiting to be kissed?
Skylark
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Over the shadows and the rain
To a blossom covered lane
And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music of the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there
And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music in the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Oh, Skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there
Billy Eckstine's song "Skylark" is a soulful expression of a lover's desperate search for his beloved. The song begins with the singer addressing the Skylark; he asks the bird if the bird knows the whereabouts of his love. He then follows up by inquiring if there's a meadow in the mist where someone's waiting to be kissed. The singer is imagining an ideal place, a haven where he could be with his beloved. He is searching for a place where his heart can go on a journey, over the shadows and the rain to a blossom-covered lane. The Skylark is an essential part of this quest, and the singer pleads with the Skylark to take him there.
The chorus of the song repeats this theme, questioning the Skylark if it has heard the music of the enchanted night, with music that is wonderful but faint as a will o' the wisp, crazy as a loon, and sad as a gypsy serenading the moon. This melancholic verse is emblematic of the lover's yearning, as he cannot be with his beloved. Finally, the singer asks the Skylark to be his guide, stating that his heart is riding on the Skylark's wings, and he pleads with Skylark to lead him to find his love.
Line by Line Meaning
Skylark
Addressing the bird, asking if it has anything to communicate.
Have you anything to say to me?
Asking if the bird has any message for the singer.
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Requesting the bird to reveal the whereabouts of the singer's beloved.
Is there a meadow in the mist
Inquiring about the possibility of a particular meadow surrounded by fog.
Where someone's waiting to be kissed?
Asking if a person the singer loves is waiting in the meadow mentioned before.
Skylark
Calling the bird's name again.
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Asking the bird if it has seen a green valley in spring.
Where my heart can go a journeying
Looking for a place where the singer's heart can wander.
Over the shadows and the rain
Describing the journey as one taken above negative experiences.
To a blossom covered lane
Describing the destination as one filled with flowers.
And in your lonely flight
Talking to the bird while it flies alone.
Haven't you heard the music of the night?
Asking if the bird has listened to the music of the night.
Wonderful music
Describing the music heard as delightful or splendid.
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Comparing the music to a dimly seen, elusive light.
Crazy as a loon
Comparing the music to the strange sounds made by a loon bird.
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Comparing the music to a mournful tune played by a wandering performer for the moon.
Skylark
Addressing the bird once again.
I don't know if you can find these things
Uncertain if the bird is capable of finding what the singer is asking for.
But my heart is riding on your wings
Expressing a deep faith in the bird's ability to locate what the singer desires.
So if you see them anywhere
Requesting the bird to alert the singer if it spots the desired locations.
Won't you lead me there
Asking the bird to take the singer to the sought-after places.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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The Billy Eckstine Collar.