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"
I Didn't Know What Time It Was
Doris Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Danced with Jim and Paul and kissed some other chaps
Once I was young, but never was naive
I thought I had a trick or two up my imaginary sleeve
And now I know I was naive
I didn't know what time it was
Then I met you
How sublime it was too!
I didn't know what day it was
Then you held my hand
Warm like the month of May it was
And I'll say it was grand
Grand to be alive, to be young
To be mad, to be yours alone
Grand to see your face, feel your touch
Hear your voice say I'm all your own
I didn't know what year it was
Life was no prize
I wanted love and here it was
Shining out of your eyes
Once I was old, twenty years or so
Rather well preserved, the wrinkles didn't show
Once I was old, but not too old for fun
I used to hunt for little girls up my imaginary gun
But now I ain't for only one
I'm wise and I know what time it is now
I'm wise and I know what time it is now
I'm so wise and I know what time it is now
The lyrics of Doris Day's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a reflection of a woman's transformation after finding someone she loves. The song reminisces the days of being young and carefree and kissing numerous boys, indicating that she lived her life to the fullest. The woman is portrayed as someone who went through life with an optimistic mindset, believing she had a trick or two up her sleeve. Despite that, she admits to being naive.
Then she found someone, and her life changed. She sings about how the time spent together was lovely and sublime. It seems that the woman has finally found something long-lasting, far from the fleeting glimpses of happiness she found in her past endeavors. She confesses that before she met this person, she did not know the time, day or even the year. Her life, at that point, had no prize since she was looking for love. But when she met that special someone, love shone from their eyes, and she knew she had found what she was looking for.
She then proceeds to reflect on her younger days, pointing out that even though she was quite old at 20 years, she was well-preserved, and the wrinkles didn't show. She thought it was fun to chase after small girls with her imaginary gun, and there were plenty of them around. But now she is a wiser woman, and she knows what time it is now, she has found someone who loves her, and life shines brightly.
Overall, the song explores the theme of love and the happiness it can bring. At the same, it reveals the personal transformation the singer goes through once she discovers what love truly is. The song's lyrics are a testament to the power that love has to transform and open up new possibilities for life.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I was young, yesterday, perhaps
I used to be young, may be yesterday or in the past
Danced with Jim and Paul and kissed some other chaps
I used to dance and kiss other guys named Jim and Paul
Once I was young, but never was naive
Although I was young, I was never foolish or inexperienced
I thought I had a trick or two up my imaginary sleeve
I believed I had some secrets or advantages that I could use to my benefit, even though they were not real
And now I know I was naive
I realize that I was innocent or too trusting in the past
I didn't know what time it was
I was unaware of the right moment or opportunity
Then I met you
But when I encountered you, it all changed
Oh, what a lovely time it was
It was amazing, delightful, and beautiful
How sublime it was too!
It was also excellent, wonderful, and impressive
I didn't know what day it was
I was unaware of the current day of the week
Then you held my hand
But when you took my hand in yours
Warm like the month of May it was
It was as warm and pleasant as the month of May
And I'll say it was grand
I can certainly say that it was great or impressive
Grand to be alive, to be young
Being alive and young is an amazing and wonderful feeling
To be mad, to be yours alone
To be crazy or in love and belong to only you is fantastic
Grand to see your face, feel your touch
Seeing your face and feeling your touch is an incredible experience
Hear your voice say I'm all your own
Hearing your voice saying that I belong to you is a special moment
I didn't know what year it was
I was unaware of the current year or time
Life was no prize
My life wasn't great or rewarding
I wanted love and here it was
But I wanted love and fortunately, I found it with you
Shining out of your eyes
I could see the love in your eyes clearly
Once I was old, twenty years or so
At one point, I was older, maybe around twenty years old
Rather well preserved, the wrinkles didn't show
I looked quite good for my age and didn't have many wrinkles
Once I was old, but not too old for fun
Although I was old, I still had fun and wasn't too serious
I used to hunt for little girls up my imaginary gun
I used to playfully look for younger girls to flirt with
But now I ain't for only one
But now, I'm committed to only one person
I'm wise and I know what time it is now
Over time, I've become knowledgeable and understand the right moment or opportunity
I'm wise and I know what time it is now
I'm now wise and recognize the perfect moment to take action
I'm so wise and I know what time it is now
I'm incredibly wise and can confidently identify the best opportunity
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vustation
So many days I have spent with her weaving her mystical and marvelously wondrous web so sweetly drawing me deeper into trance of amazement _ A class A singer with stellar chops singing one of my top five songs of all time _ Doris Day always kicked perfection up a notch so effortlessly _ Star quality was her strong suit and she always won _ Thanks for sharing
@user-io5fq3jv8q
I love Doris Day singing this song. You can hear the sweetness and goodness in her beautiful voice. It makes me remember my mother singing to me with love in every word. I just love her! I understand why she wanted to retire from tv and making movies, but if she had just kept singing for us, it would have been enough. Her voice melts my heart.
@Marcel_Audubon
so much D-Day to discover! This one is remarkable.
@jamesmorgan9448
Doris Day was great, she did it all, and so beautiful, the good old days, wish I was there
@catman916
Doris Day was one of the best female singers of her time. She does a great job with this old standard.
@latin1938
DORIS DAY IS ONE OF THE BEST SINGERS IN THE WORLD......SHE'S 96 YEARS OLD. IN 2018.
@tuxguys
Yes she was... and now it's 2019.
R.I.P.
@voicegirl555
Thank you Miss Day for all the great music you left behind and all the films too! You were wonderful! Just Wonderful!!!!
@voicegirl555
One of my favorite Rogers and Hart songs. Lorenz Hart had a way with a lyric. He was truly a poet and only a great singer can do his words justice. Miss Day You were a GREAT SINGER! Miss you already!
@margaritalandazuri4025
I would rather listen to any Rodgers and Hart song than just about anything by any other songwriters of that era, or any era. And nobody sings them better than Doris! She doesn't just sing them, she caresses them!