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.
These Foolish Things
Earl Hines Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh! Will you never set me free?
The ties that bound us
Are still around us
There's no escape that I can see
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fair ground's painted swings
These foolish things remind me of you
You came you saw you conquer'd me
When you did that to me
I knew somehow this had to be
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
First daffodils and long excited cables
And candle lights on little corner tables
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The beauty that is Spring's
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
The song These Foolish Things by Earl Hines, is a melancholic love song that expresses the deep yet fleeting feelings of a person who is reminiscing about the memories of a past romance. The song deals with the pain of a broken heart and the inability to move on because of the nostalgic memories that linger everywhere. The first two lines of the song, “Oh! Will you never let me be? Oh! Will you never set me free?” exemplify this feeling of still being tied to the past and unable to let go.
The rest of the song continues to explore the various things that trigger memories of the past relationship, such as a cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces, a telephone that rings but nobody is there to answer it, the sound of the wind in the trees and the sigh of midnight trains in empty stations. The lyrics are a beautiful portrayal of the human heart's struggle to move on when the memories of a past love refuse to fade away.
The song is filled with beautiful imagery, and the harmonies and melodies of the music complement the lyrics perfectly. The overall effect is to create a hauntingly beautiful portrait of a person still in love with someone who may never return their affections.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh! Will you never let me be?
Will you never stop having an impact on me?
Oh! Will you never set me free?
Oh! Will your memories never leave me?
The ties that bound us
The things that connected us
Are still around us
Are still present in my life
There's no escape that I can see
I cannot escape from the memories we shared
And still those little things remain
And yet those small things that remind me of you remain
That bring me happiness or pain
That bring me feelings of joy or sorrow
A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces
A cigarette that you have smoked and left your lipstick on
An airline ticket to romantic places
An airline ticket for the places we had romantic getaways
And still my heart has wings
My heart still leaps and flutters
These foolish things remind me of you
These seemingly unimportant things bring back memories of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
A sound of a piano playing in a neighboring apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
Those hesitant words I spoke to you to express my feelings
A fair ground's painted swings
A painted fair/swing ride at a park or carnival
You came, you saw, you conquer'd me
You swept me off my feet when I met you
When you did that to me
When you made me fall for you
I knew somehow this had to be
I knew somehow that we were meant to be
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
The winds of March that make my heart dance with happiness
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
A phone that rings but no one is there to answer it
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
Oh, how your memory lingers with me!
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The park during twilight time after the bell has chimed
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The French island with seagulls around it
The beauty that is Spring's
The beauty that Spring brings
How strange how sweet to find you still
How odd yet comforting it is to still feel connected to you
These things are dear to me
These things are precious to me
They seem to bring you near to me
They seem to make you feel closer to me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
The sound of the midnight train's lonely sigh in an empty station
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Thrown away silk stockings from the invitations to dance we shared
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
The scent of gardenia left lingering on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
Wild strawberries that only cost seven francs per kilogram
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The smile of actress Greta Garbo and the smell of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The waiters whistling as the last bar shuts down for the night
The song that Crosby sings
The song that Bing Crosby sings
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
The smell of smoldering leaves and the cry of the steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Two lovers on the street walking in a daze of love
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind