Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.
The Nightmare
Cab Calloway and His Orchestra Lyrics
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My head starts reeling,
I dream that I'm kneeling,
It seems that I'm kneeling on the ceiling of my room!
Nightmare, sure has got me in the air,
It's no use denying,
And there's no denying,
In Cab Calloway's song "The Nightmare," he describes the feeling he gets when he has trouble falling asleep until dawn comes around. He talks about how he experiences a sensation of dizziness, with his head reeling, which leads him to dream that he's kneeling. The weird part is that it seems like he's standing on his room's ceiling. He then transitions to explain how the nightmare has caught him in the air, and he cannot deny it. The feeling of the nightmare is so intense that he dreams he's dying and going into his tomb.
One possible interpretation of the lyrics is that Cab Calloway is describing his struggle with insomnia. When you're unable to sleep, your mind can wander, and you can experience strange and surreal dreams. With all the difficult dreams combined, it may seem like a nightmare. The feeling of being caught in the air could symbolize the feeling of being suspended in time and unable to relax. The dream about dying and going into the tomb could be viewed as the fear of never being able to overcome insomnia, or it could be a metaphor for the end of his life, with the insomnia personifying death.
Line by Line Meaning
Slumber, never comes around 'til dawn
Sleep is elusive and only comes when the night is almost over.
My head starts reeling
My mind becomes dizzy and confused.
I dream that I'm kneeling
I'm having a dream where I'm on my knees.
It seems that I'm kneeling on the ceiling of my room!
It feels like I'm defying gravity by kneeling on the ceiling of my room in my dream.
Nightmare, sure has got me in the air
I'm trapped in a terrifying dream that's lifting me off the ground.
It's no use denying
There's no point in trying to deny the fear I'm feeling.
And there's no denying
The fear is so intense that it's impossible to deny it.
I dream that I'm dying and going in my tomb
My nightmare is so vivid that I'm having a dream where I'm dying and being buried in a grave.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: YURI WORONTSCHAK, GINA RILEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind