He was born as William Thomas Murray in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of immigrants from Ireland. He became fascinated with the theater and joined a traveling vaudeville troupe in 1893. He also performed in minstrel shows early in his career. He made his first recordings for a local phonograph cylinder company in San Francisco, California in 1897. He started recording regularly in the New York City and New Jersey area in 1903, when the nation's major record companies as well as the Tin Pan Alley music industry were concentrated there.
In 1906 he waxed the first of his popular duets with Ada Jones. He also performed with Aileen Stanley, the Haydn Quartet, the Premier Quartet, and the American Quartet (the latter two actually being the same group), in addition to his solo work.
He had a strong tenor voice with excellent enunciation and a more conversational delivery than common with bel canto singers of the era. On comic songs he often deliberately sang slightly flat, which he felt helped the comic effect.
While he often performed romantic numbers and ballads which sold well at the time, his comedy and novelty song recordings continue to be popular with later generations of record collectors.
Murray's popularity faded with changes in public taste and recording technology; the rise of the electric microphone in the mid 1920s coincided with the rise of the crooners. His "hammering" style, as he called it, essentially yelling the song into the recording horn, did not work in the electronic era, and it took him some time to learn how to soften his voice. While he continued to work, his singing style was considered "dated" and less in demand. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he also did voices for animated cartoons, especially the "follow the bouncing ball" type which incorporated songs from his salad days. He also did radio work.
Murray made his last recordings in 1943 and retired to Freeport, Long Island, New York in 1944. He died in nearby Jones Beach.
I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover
Billy Murray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That I overlooked before
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain
Third is the roses that grow in the lane
No need explaining, the one remaining
Is somebody I adore
I'm looking over a four leaf clover
I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover is a song that reflects the struggle of realizing too late that our happiness was right in front of our eyes before. The first verse mentions that the singer is looking at a four-leaf clover that they didn't pay attention to before. The four leaves of the clover represent different aspects of life, such as sunshine, rain, and roses that grow on the lane. Though they are different and might seem random, these elements are part of the same clover, which is the metaphor for the person that the singer loves.
The second verse implies that the singer has realized what they've been missing, recognizing the importance of the clover all along. They mention that the remaining leaf signifies someone that they adore. In other words, the singer has found their true love and now looks at the world from a different lens. They acknowledge they didn't see the beauty of life before because they didn't have love in their life. The song revolves around the idea that sometimes, we don't cherish what we have until it's gone, and that we should appreciate the moments as they happen.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm looking over a four leaf clover
I am examining this rare plant with four leaves
That I overlooked before
I neglected to notice this clover in the past
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain
Two of the leaves represent different forms of weather
Third is the roses that grow in the lane
The third leaf symbolizes the beauty of roses growing in a nearby pathway
No need explaining, the one remaining
I do not need to describe the last leaf's meaning because it is apparent to me
Is somebody I adore
The final leaf signifies a person that I deeply love and cherish
I'm looking over a four leaf clover
I am still examining and appreciating this special clover
Contributed by Gabriel A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rwinger2481
It's now in the public domain.
Except for the Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn arrangements respectively heard in a number of cartoons like "Operation: Rabbit" and "Show Biz Bugs", some of favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Also in these Warner Bros. Cartoons
- Holiday for Drumsticks
- Daffy Dilly
- Fast and Furry-ous
- Rabbit Hood
- Home, Tweet Home
- His Bitter Half
- It's Hummer Time
- Early Bet
- There Auto Be A Law
- Ducking the Devil
@ceplio
Jimmy Dorsey, Billy Murray, and Bix all in the same room at once
@edwardgunyo3638
Love the song, Jean is great and listen to his songs all the time when I can find them. Great songs from the 20's and 30's.
@henridelagardere264
This is a favorite song of mine as long as I can remember, and I most closely associate it with João Gilberto and Coleman Hawkins. This Goldkette has been in my collection for many years, too. Listen to the piano comping behind Joe Venuti's solo: That's pianist-arranger Paul Madeira Mertz. He wrote one of the most beautiful ballads (music & words), a standard you all know, "I'm Glad There Is You", usually credited or co-credited to Jimmy Dorsey, who is also present on this Goldkette side. After the song was published in 1942, Cole Porter sent Paul Mertz a letter, naming "I'm Glad" best song of the year. It takes one to know one. And keep in mind: After all, 1942 was the year that White Christmas, Skylark, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, I'll Remember April, I Remember You, At Last or Who Can I Turn to? saw the light of day. The name is Mertz, Paul Mertz.
@elysianfury
That broken sounding trash crash near the beginning is good stuff
@browneyedgirl3224
Agreed
@arthurindenbaum4329
Shades of Spike Jones
@peneleapai
Somewhere around 00:03 ?
@davida.logansr1692
Very much the style of the period! It’s repeated several times throughout
@RChayes71788
Thank You, so very much for sharing this
@the78prof72
You are most welcome!