Born in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium into a family of Manouche Gypsies, Jean Reinhardt learned to play several instruments such as the banjo, violin and guitar from an early age; he spent most of his youth in Gypsy encampments close to Paris. His family made a living from crafting furniture, but included several amateur musicians who inspired Reinhardt. Eventually, Reinhardt was given a banjo-guitar, at which point he stopped playing the violin. During this period, he was inspired by two older Gypsy musicians, Gusti Mahla and Jean Castro. Able to make a living from his music from his teen years onwards playing in bal-musette halls in Paris, Reinhardt received little formal education until his adult life; he was taught the rudiments of literacy by fellow band member Stéphane Grappelli.
At the age of eighteen, Reinhardt was injured in a fire that ravaged the caravan he shared with Florine "Bella" Mayer, his first wife. They were very poor, and to supplement their income Bella made imitation flowers out of celluloid and paper; consequently, their home was full of this highly inflammable material. Returning from a performance late one night, Django apparently knocked over a candle on his way to bed. While his family and neighbors were quick to pull him to safety, he received first- and second-degree burns over half his body. His right leg was paralyzed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burnt. Doctors believed that he would never play guitar again and intended to amputate one of his legs. Reinhardt refused to have the surgery and left the hospital after a short time; he was able to walk within a year with the aid of a cane.
His brother Joseph Reinhardt, an accomplished guitarist himself, bought Django a new guitar. With painful rehabilitation and practice, Reinhardt relearned his craft in a completely new way, even as his third and fourth fingers remained partially paralyzed. Hence, he played all of his guitar solos with only two fingers, and managed to use the two injured digits only for chord work. After regaining his ability to play, Reinhardt resumed his career playing Parisian cafes. According to one story, during his period of recovery, Reinhardt was introduced to the aesthetics of American jazz when he purchased a 78rpm disc of "Dallas Blues" by Louis Armstrong at an Orléans flea market.
In 1934, Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Stéphane Grappelli were approached by hot club chief Pierre Nourry with the idea of forming a forming a new hot club group. Thus, the Quintette du Hot Club de France was formed, with Reinhardt's brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and Louis Vola on double bass. Occasionally, Chaput was replaced by Reinhardt's best friend and fellow Gypsy Pierre "Baro" Ferret. As the group had no true percussion section, percussion was instead provided by the group's guitarists; the Quintette du Hot Club de France thus became one of the few well-known jazz ensembles composed only of string instruments.
Jean Sablon was the first singer to record with the Quintette, resulting in more than thirty collaborations from 1933 onwards. Vocalist Freddy Taylor participated on a few songs, such as "Georgia on My Mind" and "Nagasaki". A long line of recordings for Decca, HMV and Ultraphone ensured long-lasting international success for the Quintette.
As a composer, Reinhardt wrote several influential, highly original tunes recorded by the Quintette, ranging from the dulcet ballads "Daphne", "Nuages", and "Manoir de mes rêves", to mad swingers such as "Minor Swing" and the ode to his record label of the 1930s, "Stomping at Decca". With the passing of time, many of his songs became jazz standards in their own right.
Reinhardt also experimented with recordings outside the "comfort zone" of the Quintette; in March 1933 Reinhardt recorded two takes each of "Parce que je vous aime" and "Si, j'aime Suzy", vocal numbers with lots of guitar fills and great guitar support, using three guitarists along with an accordion lead, violin, and bass. In August of the following year, recordings were also made with more than one guitar (Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput, and Django), including the first recording by the Quintette. In both years, it should be noted, the great majority of recordings featured a wide variety of horns, often in multiples, piano, etc.
Throughout his career, Reinhardt played and recorded with many American jazz legends such as Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Rex Stewart (who later stayed in Paris), and a led a jam-session and radio performance with Louis Armstrong. Later in his career, he performed with Dizzy Gillespie in France.
The outbreak of war in 1939 broke up the Quintette, with Grappelli remaining in London where the group was playing and Reinhardt returning to France. During the war years he led a big band, another quintet with clarinettist Hubert Rostaing in place of Grappelli, and after the liberation of Paris, recorded with such visiting American jazz artists as Mel Powell, Peanuts Hucko, and Ray McKinley. In 1946, Reinhardt took up the electric guitar and toured America as a soloist with the Duke Ellington Band, but his appearances were poorly received.
Some of his recordings on electric guitar late in his life are bop escapades where his playing sounds frantic and jagged, a world apart from the jubilant swing of old. However, starting in January 1946, Reinhardt and Grappelli held several sporadic reunions where the bop influences were more subtly integrated into the old swing format of the glory days of the Quintette. In the 1950s, Reinhardt became more reclusive, remaining in Europe, playing and recording sporadically until his death from a stroke on 16 May 1953 in Fontainebleau, France.
Ain't Misbehavin'
Django Reinhardt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All by myself
No one to walk with
But I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
I know for certain
I'm through with flirtin'
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
In Ain't Misbehavin' by Django Reinhardt, the singer is recounting being alone without anyone to talk to or to walk with. Despite this apparent loneliness, they claim to be happy on the shelf and not misbehaving because they are savin’ their love for someone special. The lyrics suggest that the one they love is the only one they are thinking of and they are through with flirtin'. The singer does not mind being alone and claims to be waiting patiently for their love, whose kisses are worth waiting for, just like Jack Horner in the corner who doesn’t go anywhere.
The singer is not interested in staying out late or going out. They prefer to stay home with their radio and savin' their love for the person they adore. This song is often interpreted as being about unrequited love, as the singer is waiting for someone who might not be returning the affection. However, the song still gives off a feeling of hope and optimism through the upbeat melody and refusal to misbehave.
Overall, Ain't Misbehavin' is a song which conveys the feelings of a person who is waiting for their beloved, but it also has a positive tone which places an emphasis on the importance of loyalty and the dangers of being unfaithful.
Line by Line Meaning
No one to talk with
I do not have anyone to talk to
All by myself
I am alone
No one to walk with
I have no one to walk beside
But I'm happy on the shelf
However, being alone makes me content
Ain't misbehavin'
I am behaving well
I'm savin' my love for you
I am keeping my love just for you
I know for certain
I am sure
The one I love
I am in love with only one person
I'm through with flirtin'
I have finished flirting with others
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
You are the only one in my thoughts
Like Jack Horner
I am content being in the corner like the nursery rhyme character Jack Horner
In the corner
Sitting in a corner, away from others
Don't go nowhere
I have no reason to go anywhere else
What do I care?
I am not concerned about what anyone thinks
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
I am willing to wait for your kisses
Believe me
Trust me
I don't stay out late
I do not spend long hours outside
Don't care to go
I do not desire to go out
I'm home about eight
I usually get home around eight
Just me and my radio
I enjoy spending time alone with my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I am remaining well-behaved
I'm savin' my love for you
I am keeping my love reserved for you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Harry Brooks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheBluesJammer
Imagine what these guys sounded like live without the restraints of the 3 minute record? I bet there was some serious extended jamming going!! I would love to have seen that!!
@F0nkyNinja
There are live and radio recordings which have Django and other soloists playing multiple choruses.
@fabuniverse3908
Yeah! Imagine seeing them in the Hot Club of Paris in the 30s, it's 3am in the morning, they've been playing for hours, Django and Steph are on fire, it's swinging hard and the audience are going nuts. To witness that would be musical ecstasy.
@pissyellowporchcouch
I Guarantee this wasn’t even the best take.
Just the one they Caught🤩
@ayyleeuz4892
find Django + Ivon ~10 minute session on YouTube
@autumnleaves2766
Another great track from Django and co, the world would be a happier place if more people listened to this marvellous musician and his groups.
@martinhousemuse
I have been trying to learn a canon of oft played gypsy jazz standards. So far, learning this one has lit me up the most. Full disclosure, it's Fats' version that really knocks my socks off.
@tedszabunio4852
Timeless beyond compare!! Greatly enjoy this musician!
@xtcpino
It seems that there are two people who need to re-assess their musical taste. This is FANTASTIC.
@alanrobinson100
i already have a great many hot club songs, but its great to see them finally here. this is the best music of all time i can't stop listening to them. django and grappelli are gods.