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.
Smoke Rings
Django Reinhardt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What do they do
Those circles of blue and white?
Oh! why do they seem to pictures a dream above
Then why do they fade my phantom parade of love?
Where do they end, the smoke rings I send on high?
Where are they hurled
Oh! I'd give my life to laugh at this strife below
I'd be a king I'd follow each ring I blow
Puff puff puff puff your cares away
Puff puff puff night and day
Blow blow them into air silky little rings
Blow, blow them ev'ry where give your troubles wings
What do they tell and what is the spell they cast
Some of them fall and seem to recall the past
But most of them rise away to the skies of blue
Oh little smoke rings I love
The song "Smoke Rings", which was originally recorded in 1937 by Django Reinhardt; Stéphane Grappelli; Quintette Du Hot Club de France, is a beautiful composition about the transience of life and love. The lyrics poetically describe the smoke rings that the singer blows each night, wondering where they go and what they do. The singer then reflects on how these rings seem to resemble a dream, but ultimately fade away like a "phantom parade of love". The song's melancholic tone is contrasted by a sense of escapism, where the artist imagines himself puffing away his worries and following the smoke rings up to the skies of blue.
"Smoke Rings" is a timeless classic that has been covered by various artists over the years. The song has a distinct jazz feel to it, with Django Reinhardt's guitar work and Stéphane Grappelli's violin creating a warm and dreamy atmosphere. The lyrics themselves are deeply metaphorical, with smoke rings symbolizing the fleeting nature of life and love.
Line by Line Meaning
Where do they go, the smoke rings I blow each night
I wonder where the smoke rings I create with my smoking go each night.
What do they do, Those circles of blue and white?
I'm curious what purpose do these smoke rings serve, hovering in the air, the blue and white rings that move like ethereal poetry.
Oh! why do they seem to pictures a dream above
I'm perplexed as to why these smoke rings form into visually stimulating images of dreams above us.
Then why do they fade my phantom parade of love?
I don't get why these smoke rings vanish, disbanding my imaginary parade of love.
Where do they end, the smoke rings I send on high?
I wonder where these smoke rings disappear when I send them skyrocketing into the sky.
Where are they hurled, When they've kissed the world goodbye!
I'm curious to know where these smoke rings go once they have detached themselves from our world and vanished.
Oh! I'd give my life to laugh at this strife below
I would surrender my life to enjoy a relaxed and playful perspective on this difficult world underneath us.
I'd be a king I'd follow each ring I blow
If I were king, I would pursue every smoke ring that I generate with my smoking and savor their ethereal beauty.
Puff puff puff puff your cares away
Smoke more and more to chase away all your anxieties.
Puff puff puff night and day
Smoke at any time and every time, no matter what hour.
Blow blow them into air silky little rings
Send smoke wafting into the air with effortless ease like floaty, silky little rings.
Blow, blow them ev'rywhere give your troubles wings
Blow smoke into the atmosphere to make your worries fly away.
What do they tell and what is the spell they cast
What messages do they convey, and what sort of magic or vibe do they put out?
Some of them fall and seem to recall the past
Some of the smoke rings collapse and appear to be triggering reminiscences of the past.
But most of them rise away to the skies so blue
But the majority of the smoke rings soar off into the blue sky.
Oh, little smoke rings I love
I have adoration for these little rings of smoke.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GENE GIFFORD, NED WASHINGTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@locosdelacumbia
I don't know how to explain what I feel when I'm listening to this song. It's a kind of nostalgia, sadness and also a bit o peace, all in the same time. Today is the last day in my current house and I'm moving to a new one. I will always remember the good old times in that house and attribute this feeling and this song to it.
@julierobb6002
Feels like home :O)
@johnred1
I understand. I kinda feel the same way.
@Adrianomarcondesdia
Same!!!!
@christopherfattibene7296
I love this tune, I feel like I might have lived back in the wipes and 30s in a former life. That may sound silly but I believe it's true
@madahad9
This and I've Had My Moments are used very well in my favorite Steve Martin movie L.A. Story. Very beautiful, very dreamy and captures the whimsical nature of the movie.
@WeAtG17
That film has a godlike soundtrack. It makes LA seem like paradise.
@bibi1944
Django Reinhardt et le Quintette du Hot Club de France, avec Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (v); Arthur Briggs, Alphonse Cox, Pierre Allier (tp); Eugène d’Hellemmes (tb); Django Reinhardt (g solo); Joseph Reinhardt, Pierre “Baro” Ferret (g); Louis Vola (b 1935 July - Ultraphone, Paris
@christopherfattibene7296
no wipes 1920s
@darlya.laporte1123
Ok
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