Day's film career began during the latter part of the Classical Hollywood Film era with the 1948 film Romance on the High Seas, and its success sparked her twenty-year career as a motion picture actress. She starred in a series of successful films, including musicals, comedies, and dramas. She played the title role in Calamity Jane (1953), and starred in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) with James Stewart. Her most successful films were the bedroom comedies she made co-starring Rock Hudson and James Garner, such as Pillow Talk (1959) and Move Over, Darling (1963), respectively. She also co-starred in films with such leading men as Clark Gable, Cary Grant, David Niven, and Rod Taylor. After her final film in 1968, she went on to star in the CBS sitcom The Doris Day Show (1968–1973).
Day was usually one of the top ten singers between 1951 and 1966. As an actress, she became the biggest female film star in the early 1960s, and ranked sixth among the box office performers by 2012. In 2011, she released her 29th studio album, My Heart, which became a UK Top 10 album featuring new material. Among her awards, Day has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Legend Award from the Society of Singers. In 1960, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and in 1989 was given the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures. In 2004, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush followed in 2011 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's Career Achievement Award. She was one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Her death was announced by her charity, the Doris Day Animal Foundation, on Monday 13th May 2019.
Discography
chart hits
Year Title Chart Positions
US CB UK
1945 "Sentimental Journey" (w/ Les Brown) 1 — —
"My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" (w/ Les Brown) 1 — —
"'Tain't Me" (w/ Les Brown) 10 — —
"Till the End of Time" (w/ Les Brown) 3 — —
"Aren't You Glad You're You?" (w/ Les Brown) 11 — —
"Come to Baby Do" (w/ Les Brown) / 13 — —
1946 "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (w/ Les Brown) 4 — —
"Day by Day" (w/ Les Brown) 15 — —
"I Got the Sun in the Mornin' (and the Moon at Night)" (w/ Les Brown) 10 — —
"The Whole World Is Singing My Song" (w/ Les Brown) 6 — —
1947 "The Christmas Song" (w/ Les Brown) 12 — —
"Sooner or Later" (w/ Les Brown) 13 — —
"Papa, Won't You Dance With Me" 21 — —
1948 "Thoughtless" (w/ Modernaires) 24 — —
"Love Somebody" (w/ Buddy Clark) / 1 — —
"Confess" (w/ Buddy Clark) 16 — —
"Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea" / 27 — —
"It's Magic" 2 — —
"My Darling, My Darling" (w/ Buddy Clark) 7 — —
1949 "Powder Your Face with Sunshine" (w/ Buddy Clark) 16 — —
"Again" 2 — —
"Everywhere You Go" 22 — —
"Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk" (w/ Frank Sinatra) 17 — —
"Now That I Need You" 20 — —
"Canadian Capers" 15 — —
"Bluebird on Your Windowsill" 19 — —
1950 "Quicksilver" 20 — —
"I Said My Pajamas (and Put on My Prayers)" 21 — —
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later than You Think)" 24 — —
"Hoop-Dee-Doo" 17 — —
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" 9 — —
"I Didn't Slip, I Wasn't Pushed, I Fell" 19 — —
"A Bushel and a Peck" 16 — —
1951 "It's a Lovely Day Today" 30 — —
"Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)" 10 — —
"Shanghai" 7 — —
"Domino" 21 — —
1952 "A Guy Is a Guy" 1 — —
"Sugarbush" (w/ Frankie Laine) 7 12 8
"When I Fall in Love" 20 — —
"No Two People" (w/ Donald O'Connor) 25 — —
"My Love and Devotion" — 31 10
"The Cherries" — 39 —
"A Full Time Job" (w/ Johnnie Ray) / 20 21 11
"Ma Says, Pa Says" (w/ Johnnie Ray) 23 28 12
1953 "Mister Tap Toe" 10 11 —
"When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along)" 29 — —
"Candy Lips" (w/ Johnnie Ray) / 17 18 —
"Let's Walk That-a-Way" (w/ Johnnie Ray) — 31 4
"Kiss Me Again, Stranger" / 30 — —
"A Purple Cow" 25 — —
"Choo Choo Train (Ch-Ch-Foo) 20 — —
1954 "Secret Love" 1 1 1
"The Black Hills of Dakota" — — 7
"Lost in Loveliness" — 25 —
"I Speak to the Stars" 16 17 —
"Someone Else's Roses" — 32 —
"If I Give My Heart to You" / 3 2 4
"Anyone Can Fall in Love" 27 41 —
"Ready, Willing, and Able" / — 31 7
"Hold Me in Your Arms" — 39 —
1955 "Foolishly Yours" — 25 —
"Love Me Or Leave Me" — — 20
"I'll Never Stop Loving You" 13 14 17
"Ooh Bang Jiggily Jang" 83 — —
1956 "Let It Ring" 51 — —
"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" 2 3 1
"Julie" / 64 40 —
"Love in a Home" 79 — —
"The Party's Over" 63 47 —
1957 "Twelve O'Clock Tonight" 68 — —
1958 "Teacher's Pet" 56 36 —
"A Very Precious Love" — — 16
"Everybody Loves a Lover" 6 6 25
"Tunnel of Love" 43 53 —
1959 "Love Me in the Daytime" 100 51 —
1960 "Any Way the Wind Blows" 50 109 —
"Please Don't Eat the Daisies" 102 102 —
"A Perfect Understanding" 111 — —
1962 "Lover Come Back" 98 — —
1964 "Move Over Darling" — — 8
"Send Me No Flowers" 135 — —
1967 "Sorry" * — — —
* "Sorry" made the US AC charts at #19.
Albums
10" LP
You're My Thrill (1949)
Young Man with a Horn (1950, soundtrack with Harry James)
Tea for Two (1950, soundtrack)
Lullaby of Broadway (1951, soundtrack)
On Moonlight Bay (1951, soundtrack)
I'll See You in My Dreams (1951, soundtrack)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953, soundtrack)
Calamity Jane (1953, soundtrack)
Young at Heart (1954, soundtrack with Frank Sinatra)
12" LPs
Love Me or Leave Me (1955, soundtrack)
Day Dreams (1955, expanded re-issue of You're My Thrill)
Day By Day (1956)
The Pajama Game (1957, soundtrack)
Day by Night (1957)
Hooray for Hollywood (2 volumes, 1958)
Cuttin' Capers (1959)
What Every Girl Should Know (1960)
Show Time (1960)
Listen to Day (1960)
Bright and Shiny (1961)
I Have Dreamed (1961)
Duet (with André Previn, 1962)
You'll Never Walk Alone (1962)
Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962, soundtrack with film cast)
Annie Get Your Gun (1963, with Robert Goulet)
Love Him (1963)
The Doris Day Christmas Album (1964)
With a Smile and a Song (1964)
Latin for Lovers (1965)
Doris Day's Sentimental Journey (1965)
The Love Album (recorded in 1967, released in 1994)
My Heart (2011)
Singles
Hit records:
(with Les Brown's Band of Renown)
"Sentimental Journey"
5,000,000+ sales
"My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time"
1,000,000+ sales
(As a solo performer)
"It's Magic"
1,000,000+ sales
"Again"
"Love Somebody" (duet with Buddy Clark)
1,000,000+ sales
"Confess" (duet with Buddy Clark) (also done by Patti Page)
"Bewitched"
1,000,000+ sales
"Shanghai"
"Sugarbush" (duet with Frankie Laine)
1,000,000+ sales
"Mister Tap Toe"
"Secret Love"
1,000,000+ sales
"If I Give My Heart to You" (also done by Denise Lor)
"I'll Never Stop Loving You"
1,000,000+ sales
"Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" ("Que Sera, Sera")
1,000,000+ sales
"Everybody Loves a Lover"
"Move Over Darling"
Happy Endings
Doris Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
by Terry Melcher
Bring back happy endings,
Where the good guys always win.
Give me Santa and the Easter Bunny
Make me smile again.
Bring back happy endings,
Where the good guys always win.
Make me smile again.
We'll send the tears away
Send them back to yesterday
We'll learn to laugh again
Dry our eyes and see the sad times end.
If you love happy endings,
Then let's go back once more.
And dream a lot of Camelot*
The way it was before.
Look through the children’s eyes
And life becomes a lullaby.
Send all the tears away.
Send them back to yesterday.
Bring back happy endings,
Where the good guys always win.
Give me Santa and the Easter Bunny
Make me smile again.
----
* Or: And dream a lot and care a lot
The lyrics of "Happy Endings" by Terry Melcher convey a longing for the return of the kind of stories where the good guys always win, and the resolution is always happy. The lyrics are nostalgic and wistful, expressing a desire to return to a simpler time when happy endings were the norm. The song references Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Peter Pan, and Camelot as symbols of this idyllic time. These references are intended to evoke a sense of childhood innocence and wonder when all problems could be solved and happy endings were the norm.
The song also offers a hopeful message, suggesting that sadness and difficult times can be overcome. The lyrics encourage listeners to dry their tears and look at life through the optimistic eyes of a child. The song asserts that we can learn to laugh again and that sadness can be left behind. Overall, "Happy Endings" expresses a longing for the simplicity and joy of childhood and a belief that happy endings are possible even in difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Bring back happy endings,
The singer longs for a time when everything ended well.
Where the good guys always win.
They yearn for a return to a world where good deeds were rewarded.
Give me Santa and the Easter Bunny
The singer desires the innocent joy and wonder of childhood holidays.
Make me smile again.
The artist wants to experience joy once more.
Like Peter Pan in Never-Never Land:
The artist longs for an idyllic, eternal place like the fantasy world of Neverland.
We'll send the tears away
The singer will rid themselves of melancholy emotions.
Send them back to yesterday
The singer wants to leave behind their past sorrows.
We'll learn to laugh again
The artist wishes to rediscover joy in life.
Dry our eyes and see the sad times end.
By moving on from their sadness, the artist will eventually reach a point where they won't encounter any more sad times.
If you love happy endings,
The artist requests that listeners who share their desire for happy endings stay with them.
Then let's go back once more.
Together, the singer and listeners will travel back in time to find a place of happiness.
And dream a lot of Camelot*
The artist encourages listeners to think imaginatively and dream of a utopian land.
The way it was before.
The singer wants to rediscover a past that didn't have the same level of problems they experience now.
Look through the children’s eyes
By viewing the world as children do, with curiosity and wonder, the singer believes that life will seem better.
And life becomes a lullaby.
The singer suggests that life will become as soothing as a lullaby.
Bring back happy endings,
The artist repeats their desire for a world in which things work out well.
Where the good guys always win.
Their desire for goodness to triumph is repeated.
Give me Santa and the Easter Bunny
The singer reiterates their desire for childhood joy and wonder.
Make me smile again.
As before, the singer longs to feel happy again.
Writer(s): Terry Melcher Copyright: Daywin Music Inc.
Contributed by William S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Glynis Wozniak
I had no idea about Doris Day's personal life, so to research and learn about the death of her son, I am gulping back tears at this song. She's right: his voice is beautiful ~ so pure. Rather like her own <3 Gx
Heather marsh
First time I've heard Terry sing , just beautiful , takes after his mom no doubt 💙❤️
JORGEPSOUSA911
Doris Day is an American icon and she's still active at 87! God bless her!
dorisdayno1
This song is sooo emotional, tears come to my eyes every time a hear it, its very poigant.x
NightFlower
This introduction caught me so off guard, oh my god :((( I can only imagine how hard it was for her to keep herself together while recording this, man... :/ And she was absolutely right, Terry really was a really good singer. R.I.P.
Cheryl M
So beautiful! Terry, you are missed!
rainbowaoife
This played at my Dad's funeral ..7 weeks ago .. I miss him everyday xx
Alan M
Doris you are America's heart.. where to begin expressing our love for you.. God bless you and thank you
Janette Dalbeith
Agreed Alan
Jeanette Roberts
Love this song!