The purpose of the band was to stir pro-Nazi sympathy, draw attention to World War II Allied losses, and carry Adolf Hitler's messages in an entertaining form. The songs stressed how badly the war was going for the target audience, and how it was only going to be a matter of time before they would be beaten.
Led by German accented front man Karl Schwedler ("Charlie"), conducted by Lutz Templin, and paced by drummer Fritz "Freddie" Brocksieper, the band included Kurt Abraham on reeds and Willy Berking on trombone. The group formed in 1940, making over 90 recordings between March 1941 and February 1943. Arrangements were by Templin, Willy Berking, and Franz Mück, with lyrics written by the Propagandaministerium. Schwedler was allowed permission to travel to neutral and occupied countries to collect jazz and dance music, which helped the band and propaganda ministry to craft more recordings.
Popular American swing songs - and popular British tunes/songs - were initially performed true to the original, until about the second or third verse which were replaced by pro-German lyrics and monologues. For example, in the tune You're Driving Me Crazy, Schwedler croons about the confusion of new love, and in the third verse continues: Here is Winston Churchill's latest tear-jerker: Yes, the Germans are driving me crazy / I thought I had brains / But they shot down my planes..." Later, the entire lyric would be modified, clearly based on the original. The band even recorded some "cover versions" of the originals, unaltered.
Indeed, anecdotal accounts indicate that Winston Churchill enjoyed the broadcasts, finding the lyrics hilarious.
Many of the members of Charlie and his Orchestra went on to successful careers in music after the war.
Picture Me Without You
Charlie and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ev'rything and ev'rybody
Makes life a happy song
When somebody has nobody
Birds won't sing and that somebody
Finds life without a song
If you wanna see a picture
Of the whole world upside-down
And you without me
Just close your eyes and you'll see
How lonesome we'd be
Stars would fall
Dreams would all crumble
Down for good
Castles would tumble
There'd be no me without you
No you without me
And yet nobody could be
As happy as we
Smiling through
Clinging to-gether
What would I do without you
And you without me
The first verse of Charlie and His Orchestra's song "Picture Me Without You" is about how the singer's affection for someone has grown to become a necessity in their life. They couldn't imagine living without this person - they've become so important that the idea of life without them is unbearable. The second verse is a series of hypothetical scenarios, each of which presents a well-known figure or place without a key element of their identity. All these imagined situations are used to emphasize the point that the singer's life would be incomplete without their loved one.
The song lyrics are a creative way of expressing the idea that the singer's loved one is irreplaceable. By painting a series of absurd pictures where famous figures or significant places come up short without certain defining characteristics, it emphasizes the impact of the person they are addressing. The song is a skillful and playful way of making the point that the singer's life would be dramatically different without that person, if not entirely hopeless, which is articulated in the chorus.
Line by Line Meaning
From being merely a necessary luxury
From someone I needed, but didn't necessarily love
And someone sympathetic to have about
Someone who's pleasant to be around
Why, now you're nearly a luxurious necessity
Now I can't imagine living without you, you're a luxury I need
I couldn't imagine ever living without
I can't even picture life without you
I suppose I'd somehow struggle through
I guess I'd manage somehow without you
But I'd hate to picture myself without you
But I really don't want to even think about it
Picture Henry Ford without a car
Just like imagining the founder of Ford Motor Company without a car
Picture heaven's firmament without a star
Like picturing the sky at night without any stars
Picture Fritzy Kreisler without a fiddle
Like imagining a famous violinist without their instrument
Picture poor Philadelphia without a Biddle
Like thinking of Philadelphia without one of its prominent families
Picture good cigars without Havana
Like picturing high-quality cigars without the city they're named after
Picture Huey Long without Louisiana
Similar to imagining a Louisiana politician without their state
Mix 'em all together, and what have you got?
Put these things together and what do you get?
Just a picture of me without you
Nothing but a mental image of me without you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JIMMY MC HUGH, TED KOEHLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ryan Murphy
on Dinah
Thanks for these lyrics. Fine music.