She is the only person to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music awards.
Laine was born in a London suburb to a Jamaican father and English mother who sent her to singing and dancing lessons at an early age. She did not take up singing seriously until her mid-twenties, however. She auditioned successfully for a band led by musician John Dankworth, with which she performed until 1958, when she and Dankworth married.
She then began her career as a singer and actress. She played the lead in a new play at London's famous Royal Court Theatre, home of the new wave of playwrights of the 1950s: Harold Pinter and the like. This led to other stage performances such as the musical Valmouth in 1959, the play A Time to Laugh (with Robert Morley and Ruth Gordon) in 1962, and eventually to her show stopping Julie in the Wendy Toye production of Showboat at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971.
During this period she had two major recording successes. You'll Answer to Me reached the British Top 10 while Laine was 'prima donna' in the 1961 Edinburgh Festival production of Kurt Weill's opera/ballet The Seven Deadly Sins. In 1964 her Shakespeare and All that Jazz album with Dankworth received widespread critical acclaim, and to this day remains an important milestone in her identification with the more unusual aspects of a singer's repertoire.
1972 marked the start of Laine's international activities, with a successful first tour of Australia. Shortly afterwards, her career in the United States was launched with a concert at New York's Lincoln Center, followed in 1973 by the first of many Carnegie Hall appearances. Coast-to-coast tours of the U.S. and Canada soon followed, and with them a succession of record albums and television appearances. This led, after several nominations, to Cleo's first Grammy award, in recognition of the live recording of her 1983 Carnegie concert.
Laine colaborated with many great classical musicians including James Galway, Nigel Kennedy, Julian Lloyd Webber and John Williams.
Other important recordings during that time were duet albums with Ray Charles (Porgy and Bess) and Mel Tormé (see Nothing Without You), as well as Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire which won Laine a classical Grammy nomination.
Laine's relationship with the musical theatre, started in Britain, continued in the United States with starring performances in Sondheim's A Little Night Music and The Merry Widow (Michigan Opera). In 1985 she originated the role of Princess Puffer in the Broadway hit musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which she received a Tony nomination, and in 1989 she received the Los Angeles critics' acclaim for her portrayal of the Witch in Sondheim's Into the Woods.
In the 2006 New Years Honours list, her husband John Dankworth was made a knight bachelor, becoming Sir John Dankworth. As his wife, she is entitled to be known as "Lady Dankworth," however, she uses her own professional name.
I don't know why
Cleo Laine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or don't you care to know?
If you know I care,
How can you hurt me so.
Darling, you are part of ev'ry breath I take
Will you break my heart
Or give my heart a break?
I can't figure out what love's all about,
Am I wasting time, please tell me
'Cause I'm down to my last dream.
Won't you please be fair,
Love me or let me go
Don't you know I care
Or don't you care to know?
In Cleo Laine's song "Don't You Know I Care," she expresses her confusion and frustration towards her partner's lack of understanding towards her emotions. The opening line of the song, "Don't you know I care or don't you care to know?" shows the ambiguity of their relationship as it is unclear if her partner even acknowledges her feelings. She questions her partner's actions stating "If you know I care, how can you hurt me so," indicating that their neglect is causing her pain.
Laine then goes on to explain the importance of her partner, saying "Darling, you are part of every breath I take, will you break my heart, or give my heart a break?" This suggests that her partner has a significant place in her life, and she is unsure whether they will continue to support her or cause her heartache. In the following verse, the singer admits to being confused about love and her role in their relationship, stating "I can't figure out what love's all about and where I fit into your scheme."
The chorus emphasizes the core of Laine's plea to her partner to be honest with her about their feelings, saying "Won't you please be fair, love me or let me go, Don't you know I care, or don't you care to know?" This sentiment of transparency and trust is a crucial aspect of any relationship, and her words convey the vulnerability felt when one's sincerity is not reciprocated.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you know I care
I love you deeply and passionately
Or don't you care to know?
Or do you choose to ignore my love?
If you know I care,
If you're aware of my love,
How can you hurt me so.
How can you be so unkind and hurt me?
Darling, you are part of ev'ry breath I take
Darling, you're a part of me and my every thought
Will you break my heart
Will you cause me heartache and pain
Or give my heart a break?
Or will you return my love and give my heart relief?
I can't figure out what love's all about,
I'm struggling to understand the complexities of love
and where I fit into your scheme.
And where I stand in your plans and desires
Am I wasting time, please tell me
Am I investing time in a relationship that's not worth it, please let me know
'Cause I'm down to my last dream.
Because I have only one hope left
Won't you please be fair,
Please treat me with fairness
Love me or let me go
Either accept and love me fully, or let me move on
Don't you know I care
I really do love you
Or don't you care to know?
Or are you indifferent to my feelings?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANTOINE DOMINO, DAVE BARTHOLOMEW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Jagger
on Sunday
Those lyrics above bear no relation to the song ‘Sunday’ on the album ‘Born on a Friday’
John
on Born on a Friday
No lyrics for the song Born on a Friday? These lyrics are very hard to find. It would be nice to see because of a British expression that's used in the song that I'm not sure what the meaning is.