In 1928 (on his 25th birthday) Hines began leading his own big band. For over 10 years his was "The Band" in Al Capone's Grand Terrace Cafe — Hines was Capone's "Mr Piano Man". Hines recorded for Victor in 1929, then after a gap for Brunswick from 1932-1934, Decca from 1934-1935, then after another gap, Vocalion from 1937-1938 and Bluebird from 1939-1942 (nearly all among the best Black Jazz of the era). From the Grand Terrace, The Earl Hines Orchestra (or "Organization" as he more happily referred to it) broadcast on "open mikes", sometimes five nights a week and over many years, coast to coast across America — Chicago being well placed to deal with the U.S. live-broadcasting time-zone problem. Hines's band became the most broadcast band in America. Sometimes Nat "King" Cole was Hines's relief pianist (though Cliff Smalls was his favorite) and it was here with Hines that Charlie Parker got his first professional job...until he was fired for his time-keeping — by which Hines meant Parker's inability to show up on time despite Parker resorting to sleeping under the Grand Terrace stage in his attempts to do so. Hines led his big band until 1947, taking time out to front the Duke Ellington orchestra in 1944 while Duke was ill...but the big-band era was over. (Thirty years later, Hines's 20 solo "transformative versions" of his "Earl Hines Plays Duke Ellington" recorded in the 1970s were described by Ben Ratliff in the "New York Times" as "as good an example of the jazz process as anything out there".)
At the start of 1949 Hines rejoined Armstrong in the latter's "All Stars" "small band", where Hines stayed through 1951. He then led his own small combo around the States and Europe. At the start of the jazz-lean 1960s he settled in Oakland, California, opened a tobacconist's, and came close to giving up the profession. Then, in 1964 Hines was "suddenly rediscovered" following a series of concerts in New York. He was the 1965 "Critics' Choice" for Down Beat Magazine's "Hall of Fame". From then till he died he recorded endlessly both solo and with jazz notables like Cat Anderson, Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Gonsalves, Sonny Greer, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Budd Johnson, Jimmy Rushing, Stuff Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Venuti and Ben Webster. Possibly more surprising were Elvin Jones, Peggy Lee, Charles Mingus, Dinah Washington — and Ry Cooder. But his most acclaimed recordings of this period were his dazzling and endlessly inventive solo performances, which could show him at his very best, "a whole orchestra by himself".[12] Solo tributes to Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin were all put on record in the 1970s. Hines also toured Europe again regularly at this time, and added Asia, Australia and the Soviet Union to his list of State Department–funded destinations. At the top of his form, Hines also displayed his endearing quirks (not to say grunts) in these performances. Sometimes he sang as he played, especially his own "They Never Believed I Could Do It - Neither Did I". In 1975 he made an hour-long "solo" film for British TV out-of-hours in a Washington nightclub: the "New York Herald Tribune" described it as "The greatest jazz-film ever made". He played solo in The White House and played solo for the Pope — and played (and sang) his last job a few days before he died in Oakland, quite likely somewhat older than he had always maintained.
I Surrender Dear
Earl Hines Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sworn enemy of love
Kept my lips from saying
Things I was thinking of.
But now my pride you've humbled,
I've cast it to the winds,
Broken, beaten, sick at heart
My confession begins.
We've played the game of stay away
But it cost more that I can pay.
Without you I can't make my way,
I surrender, dear.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I surrender, dear.
Little mean things we were doing
Must have been part of the game,
Lending a spice to the wooing,
But I don't care who's to blame.
When stars appear and shadows fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
To you my love, my life, my all
I surrender, dear.
We've played the game of stay away
But it cost more that I can pay.
Without you I can't make my way,
I surrender, dear.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I surrender, dear.
Little mean things we were doing
Must have been part of the game,
Lending a spice to the wooing,
But I don't care who's to blame.
When stars appear And shadows fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
To you my love, my life, my all
The song "I Surrender Dear" by Earl Hines is a love ballad that tells the story of a proud, sad, and splendid liar who has been the sworn enemy of love. This person has kept their lips from saying what they were thinking of, likely out of fear of vulnerability or rejection. However, this prideful façade is shattered, and the singer confesses their love and dependence on the person they have been avoiding. The lyrics express the realization that, without the other person, they cannot make their way in life. The opening lines describe the singer's pride as a liar, which they believe has previously prevented them from expressing their true emotions.
The second stanza of the song emphasizes the feeling of surrender and vulnerability, acknowledging that the singer may have seemed proud and gay but was only posing, and that their true feelings reflect love and dependence on the other person. The song then acknowledges that the little mean things that were done were part of the game that led to their mutual wooing, lending some excitement and spice to their relationship. They disregard any assignment of blame and instead focus on the deeper connection they share.
In the final stanza, the song emphasizes the longing and desperation felt by the singer. They call out to their love, asking them to come back and expressing the desire to be together again. The song expresses a deep understanding of the difficulties of love and its ability to make people feel both powerful and powerless.
Line by Line Meaning
Pride, sad, splendid liar,
My pride has been greatly affecting me and has caused me to not express my true feelings for you.
Sworn enemy of love
My pride has been preventing me from fully embracing my love for you.
Kept my lips from saying
I have not been able to express my feelings to you.
Things I was thinking of.
I have been withholding my true thoughts and emotions from you.
But now my pride you've humbled,
You have helped me to see the error in my prideful ways and have brought me to a state of vulnerability.
I've cast it to the winds,
I have let go of my pride and am now willing to express my true feelings for you.
Broken, beaten, sick at heart
My pride has caused me great emotional distress and has left me feeling defeated.
My confession begins.
I am now confessing my true feelings for you.
We've played the game of stay away
We have been playing a game of trying to stay apart from each other.
But it cost more that I can pay.
This game has become too costly for me and I can no longer bear to stay away from you.
Without you I can't make my way,
I am lost without you and need you to guide me.
I surrender, dear.
I am surrendering myself to you and expressing my love for you.
I may seem proud, I may act gay,
I may appear confident and happy on the surface, but deep down I have been struggling with my pride and love for you.
It's just a pose, I'm not that way,
My confident and happy demeanor is just a facade and does not accurately reflect how I truly feel.
'Cause deep down in my heart I say
I have been keeping my true feelings hidden in my heart.
Little mean things we were doing
We have been engaging in some hurtful behaviors and actions towards each other.
Must have been part of the game,
These actions were part of the game we were playing of trying to stay apart from each other.
Lending a spice to the wooing,
These actions added a bit of excitement and persuasion to our attempts to win each other over.
But I don't care who's to blame.
I am no longer interested in assigning blame, but rather in moving forward with our love for each other.
When stars appear And shadows fall,
During the times of day when the stars begin to appear and shadows start to fall,
Why then you'll hear My poor heart call,
You will hear the sound of my heart calling out to you during these times.
To you my love, my life, my all
I am expressing my love and commitment to you, and am willing to give you everything that I have.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind