The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else
Frank Sinatra & The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Lyrics
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She means her tender songs for somebody else
And even when I have my arms around her
I know her thoughts are strong for somebody else
The hands I held belong to somebody else
I'll bet they're not so cold to somebody else
It's worse to fall in love by yourself
The one I love belongs to somebody else
The one I love belongs to somebody else
The lyrics of Frank Sinatra & The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra's song The One I love Belongs to Somebody Else speak about unrequited love that the singer is going through. The repeated line 'The one I love belongs to somebody else' is an indication of heartbreak and anguish. The singer knows that the woman he loves is not his and is committed to somebody else. He describes how she sings tender songs for somebody else and how even when he has his arms around her, her thoughts wander to somebody else. He feels the weight of loneliness and acknowledges how difficult it is to be in love but not have those feelings reciprocated.
The lyrics indicate a sense of helplessness and desperation. The singer wishes that the hands he held belonged to him and not somebody else. His sadness is evident in the line "I'll bet they're not so cold to somebody else" which suggests that the woman he desires is not as cold towards someone else. The song speaks to the heartache of unrequited love, the helplessness of desire and the power of someone else's presence in a person's life.
Line by Line Meaning
The one I love belongs to somebody else
I have feelings for someone who is already in a relationship with someone else.
She means her tender songs for somebody else
Her affectionate actions and words are meant for the person she is with and not for me.
And even when I have my arms around her
Even when I am physically close to her, I know that her heart belongs to someone else.
I know her thoughts are strong for somebody else
I can sense that her mind is preoccupied with thoughts of the person she truly loves.
The hands I held belong to somebody else
While I may have held her hands before, they belong to the person she is with now.
I'll bet they're not so cold to somebody else
I suspect that she is warmer and more loving towards the person she is meant to be with.
It's tough to be alone on the shelf
It is difficult to feel lonely and unloved, especially when the one you desire is already taken.
It's worse to fall in love by yourself
It is even more painful to fall in love with someone who does not feel the same way about you.
The one I love belongs to somebody else
Reiterating the main idea of the song that the person I love is in a relationship with someone else.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bronislaw Kaper, Gus Kahn, Walter Jurmann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@schwei56
This chart is so spectacular and timeless that it must by by Sy. All the bells and whistles.
@RoryVanucchi
Great song. Early Sinatra Dorsey is great stuff
@jakobstevens
The best version of this
@Trombonology
As fans of the Big Band Era know, the standard 10-inch 78 rpm record limited the arranger to about three and a half minutes in which to present the song and band to good advantage as well as to display the arranger's own style. Until around '41, at which time the vocalist began to assume greater prominence on dance band records, the typical format in a big band arrangement for a vocal record was a brief introduction; an instrumental chorus; usually a brief modulatory passage; a vocal chorus; usually an instrumental half chorus, rarely a whole. If the song was taken at a crawl, sometimes the final instrumental segment lasted a mere eight bars or less. The great Sy Oliver, my favorite arranger, regularly departed, in dramatic fashion, from this formula, however, and "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" is a magnificent example. Sy opens the chart with an attention-grabbing intro, lasting a full sixteen bars, in which altoist Fred Stulce wails against a repeated brass figure and Buddy Rich's hard-swinging drums. TD, with his famous Solo-tone mute, comes in to commence the melody in the first full chorus, which is shared by the leader, the full ensemble and tenorist Don Lodice. A four-bar modulatory passage follows, but instead of the vocal, we then get another half-chorus with first the full band and then Johnny Mince's plaintive clarinet. Finally, with the Pipers humming against him, Sinatra enters quietly and conversationally with "You know, the one I love belongs to somebody else," whereupon the Pipers go into their hepcat jive. Joe Bushkin's support in this vocal passage is superb! Despite the fact that this song is lament, Frank and the Pipers end in triumphant fashion. Still, even with the frequent brass blasts and Buddy's relentlessly groovy beat, the side manages to convey the wistfulness of this Jones-Kahn standard, thanks to TD's intimate tone and Sinatra's marvelous reading of the lyric.
@moldyoldie7888
For a live version, it's the lead off tune at https://youtu.be/UBGh2aauAVA