Jean "Django" Reinhardt (23 January 1910 - 16 May 1953) was a Belgian guita… Read Full Bio ↴Jean "Django" Reinhardt (23 January 1910 - 16 May 1953) was a Belgian guitarist and composer credited with popularizing Gypsy jazz, as well as conceptualizing the style together with several other Gypsy musicians. Reinhardt's nickname purportedly means "I Awake" in the Romani language, however it may also simply have been a diminutive, or local Walloon version, of "Jean". He severely injured two of the digits on his left hand as a youth, and changed his guitar playing style to adapt to his handicap. Together with violinist Stéphane Grappelli, he founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, regarded as one of the most innovative recording groups in the history of jazz music.

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.

Begin the Beguine
Django Reinhardt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When they begin the beguine
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green

I'm with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying

When they begin the beguine

To live it again is past all endeavor
Except when that tune clutches my heart
And there we are, swearing to love forever
And promising never, never to part

What moments divine, what rapture serene
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
I know but too well what they mean

So don't let them begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine

Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, please make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Till you whisper to me once more, "Darling, I love you"
Then we suddenly know what heaven we're in
When they begin the, begin the, begin the beguine

When they begin the, begin the, begin the beguine
When they begin the beguine

Overall Meaning

The song "Begin the Beguine" by Django Reinhardt is a romantic and nostalgic tune that reminisces about a past love. The lyrics evoke memories of a tropical evening spent with a lover by the shore, listening to the music of an orchestra. The music "begins the beguine" - a reference to a popular dance of the time - and takes the singer back to a time when their love was alive and passionate. The memories of this time are bittersweet, as they are clouded by the knowledge that the love has ended and cannot be regained.

The lyrics are full of vivid imagery that captures the romance of the moment - the swaying palms, the sound of the orchestra, the stars in the sky. The song emerges as a powerful evocation of the sweet pain of memory, and the longing for something that can never be had again. The singer implores the listener not to let the beguine begin again, warning that it will only lead to heartache and regret. In the end, the singer resigns himself to the fact that the love is gone, and that the memory will have to suffice.

Line by Line Meaning

When they begin the beguine
When the music starts to play, it takes me to a memory of a beautiful tropical evening.

It brings back the sound of music so tender
The music is so gentle and beautiful that it transports me to a different place.

It brings back a night of tropical splendor
The music reminds me of an enchanting night in the tropics.

It brings back a memory ever green
The music rekindles a memory that remains eternally fresh in my mind.

I'm with you once more under the stars
The music makes me feel as if I am with the person I love again, looking up at the stars together.

And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
I can hear an orchestra playing music in the distance while we stand by the shore.

And even the palms seem to be swaying
The music is so powerful that it even makes the palm trees sway with the rhythm.

To live it again is past all endeavor
It’s impossible to relive that moment; it's like trying to recreate something perfect.

Except when that tune clutches my heart
Until I hear that tune again and it hits me hard, grabbing hold of my heart.

And there we are, swearing to love forever
That song reminds me of the moment we professed our love, and promised to love each other for all time.

And promising never, never to part
We promised each other that we would never let anything come between us and that we would always be a couple, never to be separated.

What moments divine, what rapture serene
Those were the most exquisite, dreamlike moments one could ever imagine experiencing.

Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
Until unexpected problems emerged and broke the spell, separating us from the joy and happiness we had enjoyed.

And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
Nowadays, when people talk about wasted opportunities, I can relate all too well.

I know but too well what they mean
I understand perfectly well what it means to lose something precious, and to regret it every day afterwards.

So don't let them begin the beguine
Please don't play that song, it evokes too much intense emotion for me to handle.

Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let the love that once burned so fervently between us now flicker to a gentle ember, preserving fond memories but not causing pain and turmoil.

Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
Let it rest like a once-passionate desire that has died, a memory that I ponder only when I want to cherish.

Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, please make them play
Okay, go ahead and play the song once more if it’ll take me to a place that I can cherish from the past.

Till the stars that were there before return above you
Play it for me until the stars align again the way they did before, and everything becomes clear.

Till you whisper to me once more, 'Darling, I love you'
Play it until I hear those sweet words again, the way you told me you loved me once before.

Then we suddenly know what heaven we're in
When we hear the song again with all the sweet memories it evokes, we know we're in a place of happiness and contentment.

When they begin the, begin the, begin the beguine
So, please start the song, let me enjoy it again just one more time.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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