Billy Stewart began singing publicly with his mother's group, the Stewart Gospel Singers, as a teenager. He made the transition to secular music by filling in occasionally for the Rainbows, a D.C. area vocal group led by future soul star Don Covay. It was also through the Rainbows that Stewart met another aspiring singer, a very young Marvin Gaye. Seminal rock and roller Bo Diddley has been credited with discovering Stewart playing piano in Washington, D.C. in 1956 and inviting him to be one of his backup musicians. This led to a recording contract with Bo Diddley's label, Chess Records, and Bo Diddley played guitar on Stewart's 1956 recording of "Billy's Blues". Stewart then moved to Okeh Records and recorded "Billy's Heartache" backed by the Marquees, another D.C. area group which was now featuring Marvin Gaye.
Back at Chess in the early 1960s, Stewart began working with A&R man Billy Davis. He cut a song called "Fat Boy". Showing additional promise with his recordings of "Reap What You Sow" and "Strange Feeling", major chart success was not far away. Stewart hit both the pop and R&B charts big in 1965 with the songs, “I Do Love You” and “Sitting in the Park.” His improvisational technique of doubling-up, scatting his words and trilling his lips made his style unique in the 1960s.
In 1966, wishing to appeal to a wider audience, Stewart recorded the LP "Billy Stewart Teaches Old Standards New Tricks" in 1966. The first single released from that album was Billy's radical stand-out interpretation of the George Gershwin classic "Summertime", a top ten hit on both the pop and R&B charts in 1966. The follow-up single was Billy's remake of the Doris Day hit "Secret Love", which just missed the top ten on the R&B chart.
While Stewart continued to record throughout the remainder of the 1960s, his weight problem worsened and he developed diabetes. He also suffered minor injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1969. His life was tragically cut short on January 17, 1970, just 2 months prior to his 33rd birthday, when the car he was driving plunged into the Neuse River in North Carolina, killing him and three members of his band.
Billy Stewart was inducted into the Washington Area Music Association Hall of Fame in 1982.
Sitting In The Park
Billy Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waitin' for hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo sha-la
Yes I'm sitting right here
Waiting for you my dear
Wondering if you ever
want to show up
My darlin' I got to go
But nevertheless I staying
You got to be waiting
Sittin' in the park,
Waitin' for hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo sha-la-la
Sitting here on the bench
With my back against the fence
Wonderin'-a-if I
Have any sense
Something tells me I'm a fool
Let you treat me so cruel
But nevertheless I say again
you gotta be waiting
Sittin' in the park,
Waitin' for hoooo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Why oh, why oh, why oh,
Why oh, why oh, why oh, why
Won't you tell me why
Oh my darlin I'm sittin' right now
Oh, girl, I want to know why?
Why? sha-la-la-la
Sittin' in the park,
Waiting for hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo sha-la-la
Sittin' here on the bench
With my back against the fence
Wonderin-a-if I
Have any sense
Something tells me I'm a fool
Let you treat me so cruel
Nevertheless I say it
You gotta be waiting
Sittin' in the park,
Waiting for hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo
No I'm not gonna wait
I am tired of waiting
No longer gonna wait, girl
Any longer
I'm tired of waiting
No longer gonna wait, girl
In Billy Stewart's classic R&B song "Sitting in the Park," the singer is waiting for someone, presumably a lover, to join him in the park. He is seen sitting on a bench with his back against the fence, wondering if his love interest will show up. He's not sure whether his darling will come or not, and he's about to give up and leave, but something tells him to keep waiting.
The lyrics suggest that the singer feels he may be a fool for waiting, as he has been treated cruelly by this person in the past. However, he is still willing to wait, and he believes that his lover is waiting for him too. The song is ambiguous in its meaning, and the identity of the person the singer is waiting for is left up to interpretation.
Overall, "Sitting in the Park" is a love song that captures the feelings of longing and hope that many people experience. It's a prime example of the romantic R&B ballads of the 1960s, and its strong melody and heartfelt lyrics have made it a enduring classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Sittin' in the park,
Waitin' for hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo sha-la
The singer is waiting for someone in the park and hoping that they will show up soon.
Yes I'm sitting right here
Waiting for you my dear
Wondering if you ever
want to show up
The singer is waiting specifically for their significant other and questioning if they will come to see them.
I don't know you're gonna show
My darlin' I got to go
But nevertheless I staying
You got to be waiting
The singer has to leave soon, but they are still waiting in the hopes that their significant other is still on the way.
Sitting here on the bench
With my back against the fence
Wonderin'-a-if I
Have any sense
The artist is starting to question their own judgement in waiting for someone who may not show up.
Something tells me I'm a fool
Let you treat me so cruel
But nevertheless I say again
you gotta be waiting
Despite feeling like a fool for waiting for someone who is treating them poorly, the artist is still waiting because they believe the other person will come.
Why oh, why oh, why oh,
Why oh, why oh, why oh, why
Won't you tell me why
Oh my darlin I'm sittin' right now
Oh, girl, I want to know why?
Why? sha-la-la-la
The singer is asking why their significant other is treating them poorly and not showing up to see them, and they want an explanation.
No I'm not gonna wait
I am tired of waiting
No longer gonna wait, girl
Any longer
I'm tired of waiting
No longer gonna wait, girl
Finally, the singer has grown tired of waiting and is deciding to give up on waiting for their significant other to show up.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind