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.
Rose Room
Django Reinhardt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little room where all the roses bloom
I want to lead you into Nature's hall
Where ev'ry year the roses give a ball
They have an orchestra up in the trees
For their musicians are the birds and bees
And they will sing us a song
As we are strolling along
In sunny Roseland, where summer breezes are playing
Where the honey bees are "A-Maying"
There all the roses are swaying
Dancing while the meadow brook flows
The moon when shining is more than ever designing
For 'tis ever then I am pining
Pining to be sweetly reclining
Somewhere in Roseland
Beside a beautiful rose
The ball is over and tulips meet
Their little kisses are so short and sweet
The lilies nod to the forget-me-nots
When they're departing in their flower pots
But all the roses with their spirits high
Remain to love until they droop and die
And dear, why shouldn't it be
Just so with you and with me
In sunny Roseland, where summer breezes are playing
Where the honey bees are "A-Maying"
There all the roses are swaying
Dancing while the meadow brook flows
The moon when shining is more than ever designing
For 'tis ever then I am pining
Pining to be sweetly reclining
Somewhere in Roseland
Beside a beautiful rose
The lyrics to Django Reinhardt's song "Rose Room" speak of a beautiful and idyllic place called "Roseland." The song opens with the singer's desire to share this magical place with a loved one, leading them to a little room where all the roses bloom. The roses are personified, given an orchestra in the trees made up of birds and bees. As the singer and their loved one stroll through Roseland, they are serenaded by this musical accompaniment.
The second half of the lyrics describe the beauty of Roseland in more detail - the summer breezes, swaying roses, and dancing meadow brooks. The singer pines to be reclining next to a beautiful rose in this paradise. The final verse brings the song back to the cycle of life, describing the departure of other flowers while the roses remain to love until they droop and die. The singer wonders why it should be any different for them and their loved one.
Overall, the lyrics of "Rose Room" paint a romantic picture of an idyllic garden paradise filled with music, love, and beauty. It speaks to the power of nature and the longevity of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to take you to a little room
I want to show you a place.
A little room where all the roses bloom
A place where roses grow.
I want to lead you into Nature's hall
I want to take you into nature.
Where ev'ry year the roses give a ball
Where roses bloom every year to dance.
They have an orchestra up in the trees
The birds and bees make music for them.
For their musicians are the birds and bees
The music makers are natural.
And they will sing us a song
We will hear their melody.
As we are strolling along
While we are walking.
In sunny Roseland, where summer breezes are playing
A bright place with wind in the summer.
Where the honey bees are "A-Maying"
Where bees make honey.
There all the roses are swaying
Where roses move along with the wind.
Dancing while the meadow brook flows
The roses dance and the water flows.
The moon when shining is more than ever designing
The moon is more beautiful than usual.
For 'tis ever then I am pining
I miss being there during moonlight.
Pining to be sweetly reclining
Longing to lay down.
Somewhere in Roseland
In a place with roses.
Beside a beautiful rose
Next to a pretty flower.
The ball is over and tulips meet
The dance is done and the tulips meet.
Their little kisses are so short and sweet
Their farewells are quick and lovely.
The lilies nod to the forget-me-nots
The lilies farewell the forget-me-nots.
When they're departing in their flower pots
When they leave in their containers.
But all the roses with their spirits high
The roses are still lively.
Remain to love until they droop and die
They will love until they wither.
And dear, why shouldn't it be
So why not us?
Just so with you and with me
In the same way for us.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ART HICKMAN, HARRY WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@harpmanb
They don't make guitar gods bigger than Django.
@benjaminlewis1551
Nobody too touch him short and sweet true comment Ben.
@davidwalker5054
The difference between Django and the modern Gypsy players is when Django plays one of his blistering little runs every note is clear as a bell and has its own personality theirs is just a blur
@joshuaingobo1559
Young Sheldon brought me here.
@henriashurst-pitkanen8735
Cringe.