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.
I Saw Stars
Django Reinhardt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I heard a birdie sing
So sweet, so sweet
The moment I fell for you
I saw stars
I heard an angel say
“Wake up, wake up
A new born feeling had me reeling
I said to myself “where am I?”
It's all so hazy, may sound crazy
There wasn't a star in the sky
Still I saw stars
I heard a birdie sing
So sweet, so sweet
The moment I fell for you
The lyrics of Django Reinhardt's song "I Saw Stars" describe the feeling of falling in love. The singer saw stars and heard a birdie sing, representing the feeling of elation and wonder that often accompanies falling in love. The line "a new born feeling had me reeling" emphasizes how overwhelming the experience of falling in love can be. The singer also hears an angel say "wake up, wake up, your wonderful dream has come true," underscoring the idea that falling in love can feel almost surreal.
The lyrics also include a sense of confusion and haziness, as the singer says, "it's all so hazy, may sound crazy, there wasn't a star in the sky." This could represent feeling unsure or disconnected from reality during the intense emotions of falling in love.
Overall, the lyrics of "I Saw Stars" convey the intense and wonderful feeling of falling in love, as well as the confusion and disorientation that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw stars
I experienced an overwhelming feeling of joy and excitement
I heard a birdie sing
I was filled with happiness and positivity
So sweet, so sweet
The feeling was so pleasurable and delightful
The moment I fell for you
The moment I realized I was in love with you
I saw stars
The feeling of love and happiness intensified
I heard an angel say
I felt like I was in a dream or heavenly state
“Wake up, wake up
The feeling was so surreal yet true
Your wonderful dream has come true”
The feeling of falling in love with you was the dream I always had
A new born feeling had me reeling
I was experiencing a new emotion which made me feel dizzy and disoriented
I said to myself “where am I?”
I was so lost in the feeling that I questioned my surroundings
It's all so hazy, may sound crazy
I was so overwhelmed that everything seemed unclear and confusing
There wasn't a star in the sky
Even if there were no stars in the sky, I still felt like I was seeing stars because of the intense feeling of love
Still I saw stars
The feeling of love continued to fill me with immense joy and happiness
I heard a birdie sing
The feeling of love was so beautiful and sweet
So sweet, so sweet
The feeling of love was incredibly delightful and pleasant
The moment I fell for you
The moment I realized I loved you, everything became even more beautiful and sweet
Writer(s): Al Hoffman, Al Goodhart, Maurice Sigler Copyright: Al Hoffman Songs Inc.
Contributed by Ethan B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@arturoalbino2610
Excelente
@Blomhert
Django and Stéphane at their best with a great contribution of marvellous swinging pianist Gianni Safred
@MrAnderswt
The Reinhardt/Grappelli partnership was truly uncanny.