You Don't Know What Love Is
Entrapping, calmly-incendiary, luring, provocative-these are only a few way… Read Full Bio ↴Entrapping, calmly-incendiary, luring, provocative-these are only a few ways to describe Daryl Johnson's boon to the jazz realm. His latest album release From The Inside is forty-six minutes of tranquil, yet massively intense jazz; this album is fulminating with artistic invention. All of the tunes on the album are originals of Johnson's except for the standard "You Don't Know What Love is." The album begins with a smooth, hip-hop groove. Throughout the tune, the texture and mood stay subdued. While the feel may be calm, johnson's lines are not; they have a relaxed fierceness. At the close, the tune segues to the second composition. Full of off-beat punches, "The Wizard" is spellbinding. The groove changes to funk and johnson lays it down. Often times 5/4 can sound contrived and uneasy, but with amazing skills the trio performs in this meter comfortably and naturally. A great credit to Johnson's compositional skills, the melody to "The Temple" is genuinely in 5/4, contributing to the ease the song portrays. The next tune is a laid back waltz (in 6); the feel is swing. After Johnsons solo, bassist Lonnie Plaxico delivers a stellar performance. The tune then ends as calmly as it began. Johnson's last original is for full ensemble. In 6/4, the tune features a persistent bassline. It is quite different than anything that has preceded it. The album's compositions seem to gradually build to this tunes intensity and ambience, before receding for the last piece: a solo-piano rendition of the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is." Upon recently having the opportunity to hear Kenny Barron speak, one of the key points he stressed was the importance of good rhythm. He recalled a story of a drummer who would only bring his ride cymbal to jam sessions! He stated that because the drummer had such a great feeling in his ride cymbal, that none of the other musicians ever missed the other drums and cymbals. This kind of devotion to feel can make or brake jazz musicians. The album From The Inside proves that Daryl Johnson certainly has impeccable feel. From top to bottom, From The Inside is unique and intriguing. Daryl Johnson is a force to be reckoned with. --Joshua Musselwhite, Jazz Improv magazine, Sept, 2004

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You Don't Know What Love Is
Daryl Johnson Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

You don't know what love is
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You don't know what love is.

You don't know how lips hurt
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
You don't know what love is.

Do you know how a lost heart fears
At the thought of reminiscing,
And how lips that taste of tears
Lose their taste for kissing?
You don't know how hearts burn
For love that can, not live yet never dies.




Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You don't know what love is.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Daryl Johnson's song You Don't Know What Love Is are all about the idea that love is a complex emotion that can only really be understood fully if one has experienced certain things. The first stanza talks about how one doesn't truly understand what love is until they have experienced the blues, until they have loved someone and had to let them go. It implies that heartbreak is a necessary part of understanding love.


The second stanza talks about how one doesn't fully understand the pain of love until they have kissed someone and had to face the consequences, until they have fallen in love and lost that love. The lyrics suggest that love is not just a feeling, but a series of experiences that shape one's understanding of it. The third stanza goes on to describe how a broken heart fears remembering the past, and how tears can change the way one perceives intimacy. The final line brings together all the experiences mentioned in the previous stanzas, stating that until one has faced the pain of lost love and sleepless nights, they truly don't know what love is.


Overall, Daryl Johnson's song is a poignant and emotional tribute to the complexity of the human emotion that is love. It suggests that experiencing the pain of heartbreak is a necessary part of understanding love, and that true love is something that is hard to come by, but worth fighting for.


Line by Line Meaning

You don't know what love is
You are unaware of the true nature of love


'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Only after experiencing heartbreak can you truly understand love


Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You must have loved someone deeply and lost them to comprehend love


You don't know how lips hurt
You have no idea how painful love can be


Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Only after suffering the consequences of loving someone can you realize love's intensity


Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
You must have had your heart broken to comprehend love's depth


You don't know what love is.
Without experiencing true love, you cannot understand it


Do you know how a lost heart fears
Have you ever felt the fear of losing the love of your life?


At the thought of reminiscing,
Simply the thought of looking back in time can be terrifying for someone who has faced heartbreak


And how lips that taste of tears
Do you realize the feeling of tears on your lips after crying for someone you love?


Lose their taste for kissing?
The joy of kissing fades away once you have lost someone you deeply love


You don't know how hearts burn
You cannot fathom the agony of a broken heart


For love that can, not live yet never dies.
For love that cannot thrive yet remains in the soul forever


Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You need to have spent countless nights crying to comprehend love's complexity


You don't know what love is.
Without experiencing true love, you cannot understand it




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

David Enger

I remember Darrell preaching this sermon in the mid-'90s at Glendale Presbyterian in his series "Altered Structures of Reality". In that series he preached a sermon called "The Justification of Grace". I have tape cassettes (!) of those sermons that blow my socks off every time I hear them. Thanks Darrell! I praise Jesus for the ministry He works through you.

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