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"
In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
Doris Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In old Shanty Town
The roof is so slanty
It touches the ground
But my tumbled down shack
By the old railroad track
Like a millionaire's mansion
Is calling me back
I'd give up a palace
If I were a king
It's more than a palace
It's my everything
There's a queen waiting there
With a silvery crown
In a shanty in old Shanty Town
I'd give up a palace
If I were a king
It's more than a palace
It's my everything
There's a queen waiting there
With a silvery crown
In a shanty in old Shanty Town
The lyrics to Doris Day's song In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town describe a narrator's fondness for a run-down, dilapidated shack in an impoverished area. Despite its shoddy roof and location next to the railroad tracks, the singer finds comfort and contentment in the small space, comparing it to a "millionaire's mansion." The singer is so attached to the shanty that they claim they would give up a palace if they were a king, as the shanty means "more than a palace" to them. In fact, they imagine a queen waiting for them with a "silvery crown" in the shanty, suggesting that the shack represents a sense of belonging and comfort that surpasses material wealth.
The contrast between the run-down shanty and the singer's admiration for it speaks to the themes of nostalgia, longing, and finding value in simplicity that are common in many classic American songs. The lyrics are especially poignant when considered in the context of Doris Day's career, as she rose to fame during the golden age of Hollywood and became known for her roles in glamorous musicals like Calamity Jane and Pillow Talk. In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town may have represented a departure from her usual fare, allowing her to connect with audiences on a more personal and intimate level.
Line by Line Meaning
It's only a shanty
The building is simple and humble
In old Shanty Town
The location is known as a place where poor people live
The roof is so slanty
The roof is not straight, but instead it's tilted to the side
It touches the ground
The roof is so low that it almost reaches the ground
But my tumbled down shack
Although the building is in bad condition, it belongs to me and I love it
By the old railroad track
The location is close to a railroad track
Like a millionaire's mansion
To me, it's just as valuable as a rich person's mansion
Is calling me back
The building has a special meaning to me and I feel like I need to go back to it
I'd give up a palace
I don't need a fancy and expensive building
If I were a king
Even if I had great power and wealth, I wouldn't need a palace
It's more than a palace
My humble building means more to me than any palace ever could
It's my everything
My building is not just a place to live, it's also a symbol of my life and identity
There's a queen waiting there
My loved one is waiting for me in the building
With a silvery crown
My loved one is special and precious to me
In a shanty in old Shanty Town
We both live in a humble building in a poor location, but it's our home and we love it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ira Schuster, Joe Young, Jack Little
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Missi Nichols
I can still hear my mother playing this on her little ukulele.. funny how some songs can take you back to the best memories ❤️ I'd almost give up anything for just one more moment ..
C J
My parents were older when they had me and by the time i was a little boy, my Nana was already in her late 70s. She would sit me on her lap and sing this to me. Born in 1920 she lived through the entire depression! What i wouldnt give to see her again and have her sing to me one more time!
tj_
My nana used to sing this to me as well
Frank Robinson
I know how you feel lost 9
Brothers and sisters only one
Left by myself god bless you
Orion Franklin
pro trick : you can watch movies at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching all kinds of movies during the lockdown.
Trombonology Erstwhile
Impeccable! Many jazz musicians study the lyrics of a song or a particular vocal version thereof, in order to understand how to interpret it instrumentally -- this is the kind of thing you can really learn from. Beautiful treatment.
Leprechaun Stud
Thank you for posting this.....love this song! She did a great interpretation....AS USUAL!
Matt Metcalf
My grandparents used to sing this to their kids with the ukulele. Now I play and sing it to mine
Missi Nichols
My mother did too!!! Oh how I miss her!! This song takes me back if only in my mind
Paul Toy
I knew a janitor when I worked at Bell Telephone who used to sing this song.I remember him singing as he went around doing his work but this is the first I've heard it in almost 40 years! And to hear Doris Day sing it's even better.Thank you