Charles Christopher "Bird" Parker, Jr (29th August 1920 – 12th March 1955) … Read Full Bio ↴Charles Christopher "Bird" Parker, Jr (29th August 1920 – 12th March 1955) was a U.S. bebop saxophonist and composer. Early in his career Parker was dubbed Yardbird; this was later shortened to "Bird" (or sometimes "Yard") and remained Parker's nickname for the rest of his life, and inspiration for the titles of his works such as "Ornithology and Yardbird suite".

Parker is commonly considered the greatest bebop jazz musician. In terms of influence and impact, his contribution to jazz was so great that Charles Mingus commented that if Bird were alive today, he would think he was living in a hall of mirrors. Bird's talent is compared almost without argument to such legendary musicians as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and his reputation and legend as one of the best saxophonists is such that some critics say he was unsurpassed.

A founding figure of bebop, Parker's innovative approach to melody, rhythm and harmony have exerted an incalculable influence on jazz.. Several of Parker's songs have become standards of the repertoire, and innumerable musicians have studied Parker's music and absorbed elements of his style.

Parker became an icon for the Beat generation, and was a pivotal figure in the evolving conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical (seeking to study with Edgard Varese and Stefan Wolpe) to Latin music (recordings with Machito), blazing paths followed later by others.

Parker was known for often showing up to performances without an instrument and borrowing someone else's at the last moment. At more than one venue he played on a plastic Grafton saxophone; later, saxophonist Ornette Coleman used this brand of plastic sax in his early career. On one particular occasion before a concert in Toronto, Canada, he had sold his saxophone to buy drugs, and at the last minute, he, Dizzy Gillespie and other members of Charlie's entourage went running around Toronto trying to find a saxophone. After scouring all the downtown pawnshops open at the time, they were only able to find a Grafton, which Parker proceeded to use at the concert that night. This concert is documented on the album Jazz at Massey Hall. The album is considered one of the greatest live recordings in Jazz history.

Parker's battles with alcoholism and heroin addiction ranged from his teenage years until his death from pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer at thirty-four. The toll that the drug had taken on his relatively young body was quite profound - a doctor examining Parker's body estimated him to be around sixty years old.

During his lifetime, tribute was paid to Parker when a new nightclub in New York was named Birdland in his honour in 1949.Three years later, George Shearing wrote "Lullaby of Birdland", which was named for both Parker and the nightclub.

Other phenomena also occurred in the United States after the death of Parker, particularly the use of the term "Bird lives" in graffiti throughout New York hours after his death, and later as the title of a contemporary art piece of the same name, created by sculptor Robert Graham in 1999. Despite its widespread use, Ted Joans is usually credited with its inception.

Round Midnight
Charlie Parker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I gotta have you now, it's not an option
You're taking off your blouse and I'm watching
In front of you mirror, i turn the curtain down
I couldn't be any clearer what we're gonna do now

I wanna see you riding and grinding and
We're gonna get it right we're colliding we're
Gonna have to keep quiet trying to keep it down

You're taking off my sweater for another go round
For another go round
For another go round

I gotta have you now, just can't take it
I wanna put you down when we're faded
At the top of your lungs, you'll be screaming my name
And we've gone too far to call it all the way

I'll pick you up and lay you on the kitchen counter
Say you couldn't do about it, I'm okay if you're about it
Down on very direction, got me hypnotized
I'm hallucinating, going out of my mind
For another go round
For another go round

It's like every other evening, let me see what you can do
Yeah, ohoho i got all this paper, let me throw it all on you

For another go round
For another go round

Overall Meaning

The overall tone of these lyrics by Charlie Parker is one of desire and intensity. The singer expresses a need to be intimate with his partner, making it clear that he wants them right now and cannot wait any longer. As the partner takes off their blouse, the singer becomes more drawn to them and decides to take action, closing the curtains to ensure privacy.

Throughout the song, the singer describes wanting to engage with their partner physically with an almost frenzied intensity. He wants them to ride and grind each other, colliding in a way that feels good to both parties. The singer also wants to keep it down so as not to alert anyone nearby. The lyrics take a more intense turn towards the end, with the singer wanting to put his partner down on the kitchen counter for more intimate activities.

It is important to note that the lyrics are quite explicit and could be considered mature content.

Line by Line Meaning

I gotta have you now, it's not an option
I want you immediately and there's no room for discussion.

You're taking off your blouse and I'm watching
You're undressing in front of me and I'm paying attention.

In front of you mirror, i turn the curtain down
I'm trying to create some privacy for us by closing the curtains in front of the mirror.

I couldn't be any clearer what we're gonna do now
I am making it obvious that we are going to have sex.

I wanna see you riding and grinding and
I want to watch you move sensually.

We're gonna get it right we're colliding we're
We're going to have sex and we'll be physically close.

Gonna have to keep quiet trying to keep it down
We will need to be quiet to avoid drawing attention to ourselves.

You're taking off my sweater for another go round
We're going to have sex again.

I gotta have you now, just can't take it
I want you badly and can't wait any longer.

I wanna put you down when we're faded
I want to have sex with you when we're both under the influence.

At the top of your lungs, you'll be screaming my name
We will be having very intense sex and you will be loudly expressing your pleasure.

And we've gone too far to call it all the way
We have progressed too far to turn back now.

I'll pick you up and lay you on the kitchen counter
I will carry you to the kitchen counter and lay you there to have sex.

Say you couldn't do about it, I'm okay if you're about it
I acknowledge that you may not have control over your desire to have sex with me and I'm alright with that.

Down on very direction, got me hypnotized
We're going in all sorts of different positions and it's really turning me on.

I'm hallucinating, going out of my mind
I'm experiencing such intense pleasure that it feels like I'm losing my grip on reality.

It's like every other evening, let me see what you can do
Having sex with you is an ordinary occurrence, but I'm still excited to see what you're capable of.

Yeah, ohoho i got all this paper, let me throw it all on you
I have lots of money and I'm willing to spend it on you.

For another go round
We're going to have sex again.

Writer(s): WILLIAMS CHARLES COOTIE, MONK THELONIOUS S, HANIGHEN BERNARD D

Contributed by Ryan P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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