born: 02-05-1936
birth place: Madras, India
… Read Full Bio ↴Engelbert Humperdinck
born: 02-05-1936
birth place: Madras, India
Starting out life as Arnold George Dorsey, Engelbert spent the early years of his life in India, until his family returned to England in 1947. He first worked as an engineer and then developed his singing and performance skills on the club circuit.
In the early fifties, he took some time out from professional singing whilst he did his national service, and returned to performing in 1956. He continued to sing in clubs and recorded some unsuccessful material for Decca in 1958.
His big break as a singer came in 1965. It was at this point that Gordon Mills, the then manager of Tom Jones, gave Arnold the new name of Engelbert Humperdinck. The new name meant that he was given another chance at recording with Decca records.
Engelbert's recording of the country standard ‘Release Me’ reached number one in the UK chart and number four in the US. His version of this song is perhaps the most famous, and it is certainly the song that he is most remembered for.
Other chart hits on both sides of the channel followed in the shape of ‘There Goes My Everything’ and ‘The Last Waltz’.
He had sixteen hit albums in America between 1967 and 1979 and released his greatest Hits in 1974, which reached number one in the UK. However, his cabaret style of singing started to go out of fashion in the 1970s, and he found it hard to maintain a presence in the British charts.
He has, however, continued to sing live and has maintained success in this arena. Unlike his natural rival, Tom Jones, he has not chosen to adapt his style to breathe new life into his recording career.
Les Bicyclettes De Belsize
Engelbert Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The world goes on.
We can't change it, my friend.
Let us go riding all through the days,
Together to the end, to the end.
Les bicyclettes de Belsize
Carry us side by side
Over Belsize.
Turn your magical eyes.
Round and around,
Looking at all we found.
Carry us through the skies,
Les bicyclettes de Belsize.
Spinning and spinning,
The dreams I know,
Rolling on through my head.
Let us enjoy them, before they go.
Come the dawn, they all are dead.
Yes, they're dead.
Les bicyclettes de Belsize
Carry us side by side
And hand in hand we will ride
Over Belsize.
Turn your magical eyes.
Round and around,
Looking at all we found.
Carry us through the skies,
Les bicyclettes de Belsize.
In Engelbert's song Les Bicyclettes De Belsize, the lyrics speak to the inevitability of life moving forward, no matter how much we try to resist or manipulate it. "Turning and turning, the world goes on. We can't change it, my friend," the song reminds us. Despite this fact, the lyrics also emphasize the importance of enjoying life's fleeting moments, represented in the song by riding bicycles with someone special. "Let us go riding all through the days, together to the end," the lyrics suggest. The song goes on to describe the magic of these moments, with the titular bicycles carrying the riders through the skies and around in circles, taking in all the wonder and beauty of the world around them.
Overall, Les Bicyclettes De Belsize is a song that celebrates the joy of life's little moments, while also acknowledging the larger forces at work in the world. It encourages us to cherish the fleeting moments we have with the people we love, while also remembering that life is full of ups and downs that are ultimately out of our control.
Line by Line Meaning
Turning and turning
The world is constantly changing
The world goes on.
Life continues despite our efforts to change it
We can't change it, my friend.
We are not powerful enough to change the world
Let us go riding all through the days,
Let's spend our time enjoying life
Together to the end, to the end.
Let's stick together until the end of our lives
Les bicyclettes de Belsize
Bicycles in Belsize, a neighborhood in London
Carry us side by side
Let's ride our bicycles together
And hand in hand we will ride,
We will ride while holding hands
Over Belsize.
We will ride through Belsize
Turn your magical eyes.
Look around and appreciate the beauty of the world
Round and around,
In circles
Looking at all we found.
Taking in all the sights and experiences we come across
Carry us through the skies,
Feel like we are flying as we ride our bicycles
Spinning and spinning,
Our dreams are constantly circulating in our minds
The dreams I know,
The dreams I am familiar with
Rolling on through my head.
Continuing to occupy my thoughts
Let us enjoy them, before they go.
Let us appreciate our dreams before they are forgotten
Come the dawn, they all are dead.
Once we wake up, our dreams are forgotten
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARRY MASON, LES REED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@EngelbertHumperdinckTV
Happy Flashback Friday! Where were you in 1968?
@Gsjsji_jwjsbs
Not even born yet
@gwenbrashier8197
Happy Flashback Friday Engel.
I would have been days, from my first birthday 17th October ❤️❤️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
@edwardanthony7283
10 years old & probably in school.
@marianadavid6473
I was not born 😇😇😇😇
@barbarablum-praeger3589
Happy Flashback Friday back.
Greetings from Germany.
@ronaldstrange8981
This is 2024 and it sounds marvellous. Thank you Engelbert.
@harveysingsforyou4640
There can only ever be one Engelbert, top star, magnificent singer !
@terryrandall3448
Not a note in his singing was ever missed. So smooth and beautiful every song he did. Never a voice like this. Engel is hundreds of times better than even Sinatra and any of those big guys they ever made a lot about. I don’t think there’s anybody’s voice out there that can carry a tune with the smoothness and the elegance that Engelbert has. Again thank you for many years of your beautiful music
@ohger1
Humps had much better pipes than Frankie did, but Frankie could craft a song like no other.