Edwards was born Clifton A. Edwards in Hannibal, Missouri. He left school at age 14 and soon moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he entertained as a singer in saloons. As many places had pianos in bad shape or none at all, Edwards taught himself to play ukulele (then often spelled "ukelele") to serve as his own accompanist (selecting that instrument as it was the cheapest in the music store). He got the nickname "Ukelele Ike" from a club owner who could not remember his name. He got his first break in 1918 at the Arsonia Cafe in Chicago, Illinois, where he performed a tune called "Ja Da", written by the club's pianist, Bob Carleton. Edwards and Carleton made the tune a hit on the vaudeville circuit. Vaudeville headliner Joe Frisco hired Edwards as part of his act, which was featured at the Palace in New York City, the most prestigious theater in vaudeville, and then in the Ziegfeld Follies.
Edwards made his first phonograph records in 1919. He recorded early examples of jazz scat singing in 1922. The following year he signed a contract with Pathé Records. He became one of the most popular singers of the decade, and appeared in several Broadway shows. He recorded, in his distinctive style, many of the pop and novelty hits of the day, such as "California, Here I Come", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", and "I'll See You in My Dreams".
In 1925, his recording of "Paddlin’ Madeleine Home" would reach number three on the pop charts. In 1928, his recording of "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. In 1929, his recording of "Singin' in the Rain" was number one for three weeks. Edwards's own compositions included "(I'm Cryin' 'Cause I Know I'm) Losing You", "You're So Cute (Mama O' Mine)", "Stack O' Lee", "Little Somebody of Mine", and "I Want to Call You 'Sweet Mama'". He also recorded a few "off-color" novelty numbers for under-the-counter sales, including "I'm a Bear in a Lady's Boudoir".
More than any other performer, Edwards was responsible for the soaring popularity of the ukulele in the 1920s. Millions of ukuleles were sold during the decade, and Tin Pan Alley publishers added ukulele chords to standard sheet music. Edwards always played American Martin ukuleles favoring the small soprano model in his early career. In his later years Edwards moved to the sweeter, large tenor ukulele more suited to crooning which was becoming popular in the 1930s.
Edwards' continued to record until shortly before his 1971 death. His last record album, Ukulele Ike, was released posthumously on the independent Glendale label. He reprised many of his 1920s hits, but his then failing health was evident in the recordings
Somebody Loves Me
Cliff Edwards Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when you smiled at me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
That it was love at sight and
I was right to love you as I do.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
When you are not around.
Ev'ry thing goes wrong, my dear I've found
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
For I'm so proud of you
It all seems too good to me to all be true
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I never knew what they could do.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
The lyrics of Cliff Edwards's song "Somebody Loves Me" convey the surprise and disbelief of a person who has unexpectedly found love. The first stanza describes how the singer falls in love at first sight and feels lucky to have found someone special. However, they never imagined that the love is mutual. The second stanza highlights the disbelief of the singer, as they feel that the loved one is too good for them and cannot believe that they are in love. The final stanza expresses the joy and pride of the singer and disbelief that such a happy relationship could be possible.
The song is about the power of unexpected love and the disbelief that often accompanies it. The lyrics are a reminder that we should never underestimate ourselves and always be open to love, even when it comes as a surprise.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday you came my way,
You appeared before me yesterday,
And when you smiled at me,
And when you smiled at me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
It caused an electric feeling in my heart,
That it was love at sight and
That it was love at first sight and
I was right to love you as I do.
I realized I was right to love you so deeply.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
However, I never dreamed that you would love me in return.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
The color of your eyes and the sweetness of your kisses,
I never knew what they could do.
I was unaware of their impact on me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
You're sharing it with everyone I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
You're thinking of me wherever we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
They find it hard to believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I have always thought of you as superior to me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
I can't believe that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
Despite all that's happened,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
The fact that I am the fortunate one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
The sky is gray and I feel down every day
When you are not around.
When you are not with me.
Ev'ry thing goes wrong, my dear I've found
Everything goes awry, my darling.
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
But when you're with me, I feel a sense of pride.
For I'm so proud of you
Because I am so proud of you.
It all seems too good to me to all be true
It all feels too good to be true for me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: CLARENCE GASKILL, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael O'Leary
Love it!
TonyBuemi
Ahead of his time. Under rated
Barbara Lopardo
me enamoré
jbiafra08
CatsPJs, sorry for spamming your comments. I'm not a fan of this kind of music, as you might already know. But this damned song is stuck in my head. Please get this song out of my head.
jbiafra08
***** Thank you. For your information, the C is capitalized and there is an "s" at the end. But I'm an imbecile.
bootlegapples
lol,well I'm not offended even though I really like CE - at least you're honest!
Zombienomicon
@jbiafra08 wow champ you got a lot going on, for sure. super busy.