Caterina Valente (born January 14, 1931 in Paris) is an Italian-born singer… Read Full Bio ↴Caterina Valente (born January 14, 1931 in Paris) is an Italian-born singer, dancer, and actress. She comes from an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown. She had three siblings, of whom Silvio Francesco was also active in show business.

In 1952 she married juggler Erik van Aro (Gerd Eric Horst Scholz). He recognized her talent and accompanied her in her initial years of worldwide success, although they later divorced. In 1953, she made her first recordings with Kurt Edelhagen. Soon afterwards she achieved great success with songs like "Malagueña", "The Breeze and I", and "Dreh dich nicht um" with the Werner Müller orchestra. In 1955 she was featured on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" with Gordon MacRae. Between 1966 and 1972 she was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Show. In 1972, she married the British pianist Roy Budd; they had a son, Alexander, but they divorced in 1979.

In Germany she was a major performer of Schlager music. There she recorded Cole Porter's "I love Paris" i.e. "Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe", which sold more than 500,000 copies in (1954.) Like in other countries where she was popular, some in Germany mistakenly consider her a German singer.

Over the years, she has recorded or performed with many international stars, including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Buddy Rich, Sy Oliver, Claus Ogerman, and Chet Baker.

In 2001, she released a new album Girltalk with harpist Catherine Michel. She is also the mother of singer Eric van Aro, Jr.

i've grown accustomed to his face
Caterina Valente Lyrics

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Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!
I've grown accustomed to her face.
She almost makes the day begin.
I've grown accustomed to the tune
That she whistles night and noon.
Her smiles, her frowns,
Her ups, her downs
Are second nature to me now,

Like breathing out and breathing in.

I was serenely independent
And content before we met.
Surely I could always be that way again - and yet,
I've grown accustomed to her look,
Accustomed to her voice,
Accustomed to her face.

Marry Freddy. What an infantile idea. What a heartless,
wicked, brainless thing to do. But she'll regret it. It's
doomed before they even take the vow.

I can see her now, Mrs. Freddy Eynsford-Hill,
In a wretched little flat above a store.
I can see her now, not a penny in the till,
And a bill collector beating at the door.
She'll try to teach the things I taught her,
And end up selling flowers instead.
Begging for her bread and water,
While her husband has his breakfast in bed.

In a year or so, when she's prematurely grey,
And the blossom in her cheek has turned to chalk,
She'll come home and lo,
He'll have upped and run away,
With a social-climbing heiress from New York.
Poor Eliza. How simply frightful!
How humiliating! How delightful!

How poignant it'll be on that inevitable night
When she hammers on my door in tears and rags.
Miserable and lonely, repentant and contrite,
Will I take her in or hurl her to the walls?
Give her kindness or the treatment she deserves?
Will I take her back or throw the baggage out?

But, I'm a most forgiving man,
The sort who never could, never would,
Take a position and staunchly never budge.
A most forgiving man.

But I shall never take take her back
If she were even crawling on her knees.
Let her promise to atone,
Let her shiver, let her moan,
I'll slam the door and let the hell-cat freeze!

Marry Freddy, HA!

But I'm so used to hear her day,
"Good morning" every day.
Her joys, her woes,
Her highs, her lows,
Are second nature to me now,
Like breathing out and breathing in.

I'm very grateful she's a woman,
And so easy to forget, rather like a habit
One can always break - and yet,
I've grown accustomed to the trace,

Of something in the air,
Accustomed to her face.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from the musical "My Fair Lady" are a complex mix of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the singer seems to be mourning the loss of Eliza, who has decided to marry someone else. He has grown accustomed to her presence and her quirks, and he can't imagine life without her. On the other hand, he is also bitterly angry at her for leaving him and marrying someone else. He fantasizes about how miserable she will be in her new life and takes pleasure in the thought of denying her forgiveness.

The lyrics capture the complexity of human emotion, especially when it comes to love and relationships. The singer is torn between his desire for Eliza and his anger at her for leaving him. He is also aware of his own faults and limitations, and is uncertain about whether he should forgive her or punish her for what she's done. The lyrics reflect the ambiguity of human relationships, and the difficulty of knowing what the "right" thing to do is in a given situation.

Line by Line Meaning

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!
I am frustrated and upset that I have become so accustomed to her face.

I've grown accustomed to her face.
I have become used to seeing her and it has become a part of my routine.

She almost makes the day begin.
She is such an integral part of my day that without her, it would not feel complete.

I've grown accustomed to the tune That she whistles night and noon.
I have become familiar with the sounds she makes, as they have become a part of my daily life.

Her smiles, her frowns, Her ups, her downs Are second nature to me now, Like breathing out and breathing in.
I have become so used to her moods and behavior that they feel just as natural as breathing.

I was serenely independent And content before we met. Surely I could always be that way again - and yet,
Before meeting her, I was self-sufficient and happy. I think I could return to that state, but there is doubt in my mind.

Accustomed to her look, Accustomed to her voice, Accustomed to her face.
I have become used to her appearance, sound, and presence in my life.

Marry Freddy. What an infantile idea. What a heartless, wicked, brainless thing to do. But she'll regret it. It's doomed before they even take the vow.
The idea of her marrying Freddy seems foolish and cruel. She will come to regret it, and I believe their marriage is doomed from the start.

I can see her now, Mrs. Freddy Eynsford-Hill, In a wretched little flat above a store. I can see her now, not a penny in the till, And a bill collector beating at the door.
I can imagine her in a poor living situation, struggling to make ends meet and dealing with debt collectors.

She'll try to teach the things I taught her, And end up selling flowers instead. Begging for her bread and water, While her husband has his breakfast in bed.
She will attempt to use the lessons I taught her to succeed, but will ultimately end up resorting to her old job of selling flowers. Meanwhile, her husband will be living comfortably without worry.

In a year or so, when she's prematurely grey, And the blossom in her cheek has turned to chalk, She'll come home and lo, He'll have upped and run away, With a social-climbing heiress from New York.
After a year or so, she will be aged and unhappy, and her husband will leave her for a new partner who wants to climb the social ladder.

Poor Eliza. How simply frightful! How humiliating! How delightful!
Eliza's situation is terrible and shameful, but I also feel some amusement or enjoyment in imagining her downfall.

How poignant it'll be on that inevitable night When she hammers on my door in tears and rags. Miserable and lonely, repentant and contrite, Will I take her in or hurl her to the walls? Give her kindness or the treatment she deserves? Will I take her back or throw the baggage out?
I anticipate a dramatic moment when Eliza comes back to me, upset and in poor condition. I am unsure how I will handle the situation - whether I will act with kindness or bitterness.

But, I'm a most forgiving man, The sort who never could, never would, Take a position and staunchly never budge. A most forgiving man.
Despite my negative thoughts about Eliza, I still believe myself to be a forgiving person who is open to change.

But I shall never take take her back If she were even crawling on her knees. Let her promise to atone, Let her shiver, let her moan, I'll slam the door and let the hell-cat freeze!
Despite my forgiving nature, there is a limit to how much I will tolerate. Even if Eliza were to apologize and beg on her knees, I would not take her back.

Marry Freddy, HA!
The idea of her marrying Freddy seems ridiculous and amusing to me.

But I'm so used to hear her day, "Good morning" every day. Her joys, her woes, Her highs, her lows, Are second nature to me now, Like breathing out and breathing in.
I have become accustomed to hearing her say good morning every day, and knowing about her daily joys and struggles has become natural to me.

I'm very grateful she's a woman, And so easy to forget, rather like a habit One can always break - and yet, I've grown accustomed to the trace, Of something in the air, Accustomed to her face.
I appreciate that she is a woman and therefore easily forgettable, like a habit. However, I have grown so used to the faint scent she leaves in the air and her presence that it has become difficult to let go.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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