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"
Ill Be Home for Christmas
Doris Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This time for sure
To have and hold you baby
Hold you in my arms
I'll be home this Christmas
This time for sure
I'll be there to comfort you
Lovin' you so tenderly
Oh just you wait and see
My heart will be for ever more
Yours till eternity
I'll be home this Christmas
For sure this time
You're everything I dreaming of
I'll be home this Christmas time
I'll be home this Christmas
This time for sure
To have and hold you baby
Forever this Christmas time
You're everything I dreaming of
I'll be home this Christmas time
Forever this Christmas time
I'll be home this Christmas time
The opening lines of Doris Day's "I'll Be Home for Christmas" are simple yet powerful as it promises to come home for Christmas. The song talks about someone who is determined to finally make it home for the holiday after being away for a while. The use of the word "sure" emphasizes the intensity of the promise and sets the tone for the rest of the song. The next lines "To have and hold you baby, Hold you in my arms" show the longing for the person they are singing to, and the desire to hold them tight.
As the song progresses, we see a more romantic aspect of the relationship. The use of the phrase "comfort you" implies that the person being sung to is going through a difficult time, making the singer's presence much more necessary. The repetition of the phrase, "Hold you forever more" is a testament to never letting go, and being a source of comfort and support.
In the next verse, the lyrics, "Lovin' you so tenderly, Oh just you wait and see" shows the singer's commitment to their beloved. The last two lines of the verse, "My heart will be forever more, Yours till eternity" signifies how the singer's heart belongs to the person they are singing to, and how they are committed to them for as long as they both shall live.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be home this Christmas
I will return to my home this holiday season
This time for sure
I am confident that I will be able to make it home this time
To have and hold you baby
To be reunited with you and embrace you lovingly
Hold you in my arms
To express my affection physically by holding you close to me
I'll be there to comfort you
I will provide you with emotional support when you need it
Hold you for ever more
To hold you closely and lovingly, now and forever
Lovin' you so tenderly
Expressing my love for you in a gentle and affectionate way
Oh just you wait and see
I promise that my love for you will only grow stronger
My heart will be for ever more
My love and affection for you will continue forever
Yours till eternity
I will love and cherish you forever
You're everything I dreaming of
You are my everything, my dream come true
Forever this Christmas time
My love for you will be eternal, especially during the holiday season
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: Buck Ram, Kim Gannon, Walter Kent
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Miriam Dopp
I'll be home for Christmas
I'll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
The Story of O
Tears come to my eyes whenever I listen to this song, particularly when the voice is as beautiful as the medoly itself!! Lovely Doris Day!
Benito Steinbach
True!
Maximilia Rafferty
My granny used to sing this song when I was little and she was sick, she used to sound just like Doris Day. It always makes me tear up when I hear it now, as she died on boxing day when I was 4... This is one of the only things that I have to remember her by. I'll always love you Granny Edith xox
Fatima Dos Santos Lima
Lindamuito
Joe Miller
Doris was so gifted in so many areas .Singer /Actress and a great human being as well!There will never be anyone like her !
Jacque McCoy
I absolutely love this! The music and pictures!!
fob1xxl
She just makes me so Damn Happy ! If it's possible, she got even more beautiful as the years went by !
Theresa Cattaneo
Thank you , you made a beautiful song even more beautiful, it brought me to tears!
Lee Presley
I love this Christmas song..
I miss my mom every Christmas 😭
JeffersonDinedAlone
One of my very favorite Christmas songs, especially when I was in the Air Force in California and so looking forward to Holiday leave to return to Pennsylvania to be with my family.