These Foolish Things
Earl Hines Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh! Will you never let me be?
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
A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces
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

Overall Meaning

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
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