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"
Love Me Or Leave Me (Form The Soundtrack Of MGM Film
Doris Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't stand uncertainly
Tell me now I've got to know
Whether you want me to stay or to go
Love me or leave me
Or let me be lonely
You won't believe me, I love you only
Then happy with someone else
You might find the night time
The right time for kissin'
But night time is my time
For just reminiscin'
Regrettin' instead of forgettin'
With somebody else
There'll be no one
Unless that someone is you
I intend to be independently blue
I want your love
But I don't want to borrow
To have it today to give it back tomorrow
For your love is my love
There's no love for nobody else
The song "Love Me or Leave Me" by Doris Day is a bittersweet ballad about uncertainty and the fear of rejection in a relationship. The lyrics reveal the desperation and longing of someone who is deeply in love with their partner but doesn't know where they stand. The opening lines, "This affair is killin' me, I can't stand uncertainly," set the tone for the rest of the song, where the singer pleads with their lover to make a decision about whether they want to stay together or part ways.
The chorus of the song, "Love me or leave me, or let me be lonely, you won't believe me, I love you only," expresses the singer's desire for clarity and honesty from their partner. They would rather be alone than be with someone who doesn't reciprocate their feelings. The second half of the chorus, "I'd rather be lonely than happy with someone else," shows that the singer's love is unconditional and they are willing to suffer for it.
The bridge of the song, "You might find the night time the right time for kissin', but night time is my time for just reminiscin', regrettin' instead of forgettin' with somebody else," reveals the depth of the singer's emotions. They are haunted by memories of their lover and unable to move on, even if it means being with someone else. The final lines of the song, "For your love is my love, there's no love for nobody else," emphasize the singer's devotion to their partner and the hope that they will choose to stay together.
Overall, "Love Me or Leave Me" is a poignant and heartfelt song about the complexities of love and relationships. It showcases Doris Day's impressive vocal range and emotional depth.
Line by Line Meaning
This affair is killin' me
I am deeply troubled by this relationship
I can't stand uncertainly
I cannot handle being unsure about our future
Tell me now I've got to know
Please inform me of your decision
Whether you want me to stay or to go
Do you want me to remain in this relationship or leave?
Love me or leave me
You must choose to either love me or leave me alone
Or let me be lonely
If you can't love me, it's better to be alone
You won't believe me, I love you only
I know it's hard to believe, but I only love you
I'd rather be lonely
I would prefer to be alone than hurt by someone else
Then happy with someone else
Being with someone else won't make me happy
You might find the night time
Perhaps you think nighttime
The right time for kissin'
Is the best time for romance
But night time is my time
However, nighttime is the time
For just reminiscin'
For me to think about past memories
Regrettin' instead of forgettin'
Regretting the past instead of forgetting it
With somebody else
If I was with someone else
There'll be no one
No one will make me feel the way that you do
Unless that someone is you
The only exception would be if you were that person
I intend to be independently blue
I plan to be content with being alone
I want your love
I desire your affection
But I don't want to borrow
But I don't want it to be temporary
To have it today to give it back tomorrow
For the love to be short-lived
For your love is my love
I only want your love
There's no love for nobody else
I won't love anyone else
Contributed by Blake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Stephen Vincent
One of the greatest entertainers/performers Doris’s smile lit up any occasion.
Richard Palmer
I adore this woman. One of the greatest talents ever!!
barryparker1949
I agree 100 percent - I love her - luckily for my dad she recorded his song Dansero back in the day which is on her album "Latin For Lovers" and "Move Over Darling"
Ruth Bashford
barryparker1949 Totally agree. The lady has a beautiful voice.
Paul Money
Terrific film, worth searching out. Both stars are terrific and Doris sings out of her skin.
willec49
Doris is one of those unique and special people who come along once in a generation. They exist in all professions and lines of work. Luckily, Doris came along when technology and media allowed for her work to be recorded, preserved, shown, and able to be appreciated and enjoyed by people all over the world for as long as devices which play music movies, etc. continue to exist. Her life was just as much as a public service as a doctor or a priest. Thank you Doris!
nissi
Yes! Well said! 🙌
Daniel Forte
one of the top five female singers of all time , and the undisputed queen of torch songs
carolbob606
This is a good film with an interesting story, & both Doris & James Cagney are outstanding. I personally love this song the most, but all the music is really good. Too bad they can't make films of this quality any more. Still love Doris, hope she has happiness in the final stages of her life......
MrCristoforoantonio
This is, by far, her best song!