David Warren Brubeck (born December 6, 1920 in Concord, California - Decemb… Read Full Bio ↴David Warren Brubeck (born December 6, 1920 in Concord, California - December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist who has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". He was probably best known for "Take Five", written by saxophone player Paul Desmond, who was the saxophonist in The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Due to the immense popularity of his work, Brubeck had won multiple awards such as a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1996, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship in 1999, and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009.

Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills. Much of his music employed unusual time signatures, a fact jokingly referred to by his greatest hits album 'Time Signatures: A Career Retrospective'. Upon his death, a number of commentators noted his crossover appeal to mainstream pop audiences, something putting him in the company of other jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong and Herbie Hancock among others.

Yesterdays
Dave Brubeck Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yesterdays, yesterdays
Days I knew as happy
Sweet sequester days
Olden days, golden days
Days of mad romance and love

Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
Joyous free and flaming life

Forsooth, was mine
Sad am I, glad am I
For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays

Yesterdays, yesterdays
Days I knew as happy
Sweet sequester days
Olden days, golden days
Days of mad romance and love

Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
Joyous free and flaming life
Forsooth, was mine
Sad am I, glad am I
For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays

Yesterdays, yesterdays
Days I knew as happy
Sweet sequester days
Olden days, golden days
Days of mad romance and love

Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
Joyous free and flaming life
Forsooth, was mine
Sad am I, glad am I

For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays
Yesterdays

Overall Meaning

Dave Brubeck's song "Yesterdays" is a wistful reflection on past times, particularly the days of youth, love, and romance. The singer begins by repeating the word "yesterday" to convey a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past. They then describe those days as "happy" and "sweet sequester days," indicating a time of contentment and privacy. The line "olden days, golden days" combines the imagery of valuable and precious with the idea of the past being distant and unreachable.

The singer goes on to describe their youth as a time of joy, freedom, and passion. The use of the phrase "flaming life" conjures up a powerful and intense image of the excitement of youth. However, the final lines of each verse reveal a sense of melancholy, as the singer laments the passing of time and the inability to recapture those past feelings. The repeated line "sad am I, glad am I" captures the bittersweet nature of nostalgia, with the singer feeling both pained by the knowledge that those times are gone and grateful for having had them in the first place.

Overall, "Yesterdays" is a poignant reflection on the fleeting nature of time and the precious memories we hold onto from the past.

Line by Line Meaning

Yesterdays, yesterdays
Memories of the past, memories of the past

Days I knew as happy
Those were the days when happiness prevailed

Sweet sequester days
Days when I was in a state of blissful isolation

Olden days, golden days
The days of the past were the ones to truly treasure

Days of mad romance and love
Those were the days filled with intense love and romance

Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
I was young and carefree, living my truth and enjoying life

Joyous free and flaming life
Every moment was full of joy and enthusiasm

Forsooth, was mine
Indeed, those were the best days of my life

Sad am I, glad am I
I am both sad and happy at the same time

For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays
Today, all I can do is dream about the past and those wonderful memories