Brown and Roach co-led a hard bop quintet from 1954 to 1956, with pianist Richie Powell (Bud Powell's younger brother) and bassist George Morrow. The line-up also included a tenor saxophonist: Harold Land for a time, then Sonny Rollins. The Brown-Roach quintet came to an end in June 1956, when Brown, Powell, and Powell's wife Nancy were killed in an automobile accident.
Star dust
Clifford Brown & Max Roach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
In Clifford Brown's song "Willow Weep for Me" the singer is experiencing a period of loneliness and heartache. He begins the song by describing how the twilight time that used to be so beautiful and calming, now only reminds him that he is separated from his love. He then goes on to recount how he spends his nights dreaming of a song that he and his love used to share. This melody haunts him, and he is transported back to a time when they were together and everything was new and fresh. However, he is also acutely aware that this is all in the past and he is struggling to come to terms with the loss of this love.
The second verse offers some nostalgia, as the singer thinks back to a time where he and his love were together and describes a moment where they were in each other's arms under the stars. Despite the beauty of this moment, there is a sadness as it is clear that these times are over and can only be held onto in memories. The song ends on a bittersweet note with the singer acknowledging that these memories are all he has left, but at the same time, cherishing the stardust melody that was a part of their love story.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
As the sun sets and day turns to night, I feel a heavy sense of melancholy.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
This sadness permeates my entire being, reaching the depths of my soul.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
At night, I look up at the stars, which remind me of how far apart we are from each other.
Always reminding me that we're apart
I am constantly reminded of the distance between us, which weighs heavily on my heart.
You wander down the lane and far away
I watch as you walk away from me, down a path that leads far into the distance.
Leaving me a song that will not die
The only thing you leave behind is a memory, but one that will never fade away.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
Our love, which once burned brightly, has now faded away into a distant memory.
The music of the years gone by.
The only thing that remains of our love are the echoes of music from days long gone.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
I often question how I fill my time without you.
The lonely nights
The nights are the hardest, as I am left alone to face my thoughts of you.
Dreaming of a song
In my sleep, I am haunted by a melody that reminds me of our time together.
The melody
It's a tune that I can't quite remember, but that still lingers in my mind.
Haunts my reverie
This melody is always with me, even during my daydreams.
And I am once again with you
This melody has the power to transport me back to a time when we were together.
When our love was new
A time when our love was fresh, new, and exciting.
And each kiss an inspiration
Each time we kissed, it felt like a burst of creativity and inspiration.
But that was long ago
Those memories are long gone and distant.
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
The only thing that brings me comfort now is the memory of our love, which is like stardust.
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
In my mind, I imagine us together, outside in a garden, under a starry sky.
You are in my arms
I can feel you close to me, as if we are holding each other tightly.
The nightingale
In this moment, nature itself seems to be celebrating our love.
Tells his fairytale
The nightingale's song is a sweet, whispered story that speaks to the romance of the moment.
Of paradise, where roses grew
The bird's tale of paradise and blooming roses feels like a dream come true in this moment.
Though I dream in vain
Unfortunately, this perfect moment is just a fantasy, unfulfilled in the real world.
In my heart it will remain
But even though it's an impossible dream, the memory of it will stay with me forever.
My stardust melody
Just like the stars in the sky, my memories of our love are scattered and distant.
The memory of love's refrain.
But the echoes of our romance, the melodies of our love, will never truly fade away.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PARISH, MITCHELL / CARMICHAEL, HOAGY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wyndhl eodumegwu
Clifford Brown was an "Organic Real Jazz" virtuoso whose performances were inundated with libraries of surrealistic greatness, so to speak - mildly.
Smooth, cool, pastoral, hymnodic, emotional, romantic ... - human and humane is Clifford's treatment of this wonderful standard, "Star Dust".
Clifford, Booker Little, Chet Baker, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Abram Wilson: musical "sons" of "Fats" Navarro, stylistically.
May their souls repose divinely in the loudest silence of the Almighty!
Let's be not afraid; Dominick Farrenacci has ably and efficiently taken up the Brownian trumpet cudgel.
Thanks for posting such greatness!
wyndhl eodumegwu
patmcq:
Your not hearing of the phrase "Organic Real Jazz" - until now - has to be "organically" true; for, you yourself have acknowledged the absence of your knowledge of it.
And, many too had never heard of men's landing on the Moon - until they did; isn't it?
Language is not immutable: it is perpetually evolving; it's constantly in the process of becoming; it's always in motion, phonologically, phonemically and semantically.
Thus, add the phrase "Organic Real Jazz" to your musical vocabulary; will you not?
(There is also "Generic Fake Jazz", the so-called "Smooth Jazz" which is, in actuality, Instrumental Pop Music - Funk, Fusion, RnB, RnR ...for example)
This latter genre is, nevertheless, as prestigious and as enjoyable as the former classification.
Thanks for the implicit query!
dansebastianbr
This is single handedly the most beautiful record ever made. It moves every last inch of the soul and speaks of things that transcend time. So much meaning in every note that Clifford blows on this session. I am truly thankful for this masterpiece and for it being available on YouTube for the whole world to listen.
Ronnie Witherspoon
I'm 75 yrs. old now, and have been in the coat tails of hard Bop since the 50's. During the 50's all the gang were just gathering all of the Clifford recordings that we could, and after his untimely death, we held on to what we had gathered with iron hands. Yet it is still here today, just as beautiful and flowing as it ever was. I still have all of my albums.
musicloverdavid
The beauty of his playing does not fade with time. As a former (frustrated) trumpet player he was what I longed to be but never achieved.
Caio vaz
Hey my friend! How you doing on 80? Brown was a genius! Cheers
tesstesstestees
hey roonie :) are ya still alive?
BeatsbyNate
Hope everything is well man 🙏🏽 rip if you are not here with us anymore
Rebecca Thacker
This is probably the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard and more specifically the most beautifully I have heard the trumpet be played. And this is the reason why I play the trumpet, because of how truly beautiful it is.
william cervetti
I totally agree. First time I heard the "with Strings" album, I was overcome and had to retreat and sit by myself in a corner. Especially "Stardust", for some reason. Listen to even the greatest trumpeter's versions of it, and they all sound like they're goofing, showing off, or are clueless as to where to locate the melodic heart or dramatic arc of this beautiful piece of music. Nobody was "inside the music" as completely as Clifford was. His playing simply can't be described in words. His authority as a definitive interpreter in virtually everything he recorded in unassailable.
Toby Black
I agree. Clifford Brown shows us all that it's not just the pitch and volume of the notes, but how you space, shape, and express the notes that define virtuosity. We mortals can only recognize the genius, marvel at it, and hope to someday, somehow put the tiniest bit of it into our own playing.
TimTammy22 :D
I play trumpet to and this is why it’s so beautiful