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"
Why Dont We do This More Often
Doris Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just what we're doin' tonight
Gee, but it's great to get together again
Why does it only happen now and then
We oughtta do this more often
Don't you agree that I'm right
We make each other laugh
We make each other sing
Over-do a good thing
So why don't we do this more often
Just what we're doin' tonight
Why don't we do this more often
Just what we're doin' tonight
Oh gee, but it's great to get together again
Why does it only happen now and then
We oughtta do it more often
Don't you agree that I'm right
We make each other laugh
We make each other sing
And you can never ever
Overdo a good thing
Why don't we do it more often
Just what we're doin' tonight
The lyrics to Doris Day’s “Why Don’t We Do This More Often” reflect the joy and happiness of spending time with someone special. The singer wonders why they do not spend more time together like they are doing tonight, celebrating life and being happy. The song seems to be about reconnecting with someone we have not seen in a long time and realizing that life is too short to spend time apart. The singer believes that spending time with this person is a good thing that should not be overdone, but should be done more frequently.
The singer opens the song by questioning why they do not spend more time together. She acknowledges how great it is to be in each other’s company again, highlighting that this only happens now and then, which is not often enough. The chorus suggests doing this more often, and the singer presents the idea that they should do what they are doing tonight regularly, implying that it is a good thing. The singer then points out how being in each other’s company brings out the best in them. They make each other laugh, sing, and feel good, indicating how important this person is to the singer. The song ends by reiterating the chorus and the need to do what they are doing more often.
Overall, the song is about the joy of spending time with someone special and realizing that life is too short to spend apart. By repeating the chorus, the singer emphasizes that spending time together should happen more frequently, and it is a good thing to do.
Line by Line Meaning
Why don't we do this more often
Expressing the desire to do what they are currently doing on a more frequent basis.
Just what we're doin' tonight
Describing the specific enjoyable activity they are engaging in tonight.
Gee, but it's great to get together again
Expressing the pleasure and happiness of being reunited with someone they enjoy spending time with.
Why does it only happen now and then
Questioning why they don't get together more frequently.
We oughtta do this more often
Expressing a strong belief that they should spend more time together.
Don't you agree that I'm right
Asking for agreement from the other person that they should spend more time together.
We make each other laugh
Acknowledging that they bring joy and happiness to each other's lives through their sense of humor.
We make each other sing
Acknowledging that they bring joy and happiness to each other's lives through their love of music.
And you can never ever
Over-do a good thing
Stating the belief that spending time together and enjoying each other's company is always a positive thing and cannot be overdone.
So why don't we do this more often
Reiterating the desire to spend more time together doing what they are currently doing.
Just what we're doin' tonight
Restating the specific enjoyable activity they are engaging in tonight.
Why don't we do this more often
Again expressing the desire to do what they are currently doing on a more frequent basis.
Just what we're doin' tonight
Once again describing the specific enjoyable activity they are engaging in tonight.
Oh gee, but it's great to get together again
Reiterating the pleasure and happiness of being reunited with someone they enjoy spending time with.
We oughtta do it more often
Repeating the belief that they should spend more time together.
Don't you agree that I'm right
Once again asking for agreement from the other person that they should spend more time together.
We make each other laugh
Reiterating that they bring joy and happiness to each other's lives through their sense of humor.
We make each other sing
Reiterating that they bring joy and happiness to each other's lives through their love of music.
And you can never ever
Overdo a good thing
Repeating the belief that spending time together and enjoying each other's company is always a positive thing and cannot be overdone.
Why don't we do it more often
A final expression of the desire to spend more time together doing what they are currently doing.
Just what we're doin' tonight
A final restatement of the specific enjoyable activity they are engaging in tonight.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALLIE WRUBEL, CHARLES NEWMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind