(2) One of the most accessible of all jazz pianists, Gene Harris' soulful style (influenced by Oscar Peterson and containing the blues-iness of a Junior Mance) was immediately likable and predictably excellent. After playing in an Army band (1951-1954), he formed a trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy which was, by 1956, known as the Three Sounds. The group was quite popular, and recorded regularly during 1956-1970 for Blue Note and Verve. Although the personnel changed and the music became more R&B-oriented in the early '70s, Harris retained the Three Sounds name for his later Blue Note sets. He retired to Boise, ID, in 1977, and was largely forgotten when Ray Brown persuaded him to return to the spotlight in the early '80s. Harris worked for a time with the Ray Brown Trio and led his own quartets in the years to follow, recording regularly for Concord and heading the Phillip Morris Superband on a few tours; 1998's Tribute to Count Basie even earned a Grammy nomination. While awaiting a kidney transplant, he died on January 16, 2000, at the age of 66. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
Don
Gene Harris Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Will come and go
You reach for love
But life wont let ya know
That in the end
You'll still be loving her
But then shes gone
You're all alone
Sign of pain
Is on my face, well
My heart beat stops
But I wont take the blame, no no
I gave her all the love I had within
My love was strong
Something went wrong, no! no!
It takes a fool to learn
Yes sir
That love don't love nobody
Love love love love love love
It takes a fool to learn
Yes it does, girl
That love don't love no one
That love don't love no one
It takes a fool to learn
Stop to think about it, well
That love don't love nobody
Oh! Oh no!
It takes a fool to learn
When you're down and out, shout about it
That love don't love no more
Tell the world, oh babe
No more
Oh, babe
It takes a fool to learn
Gotta be more careful about myself
That love don't love nobody
It takes a fool to learn
Whoa baby, took me a long time to learn, to learn, well
That love don't love no one
It takes a fool to learn
I was a fool, you were a fool
That love don't love nobody
Now we got love, we need love
It takes a fool to learn
The lyrics of Gene Harris's song "Don" present a narrative of love and loss. The opening lines convey that sometimes people come into our lives and leave us just as quickly, leaving us longing for love that is beyond our control. The singer laments that despite loving the woman, something went wrong between them, and she left him. The "sign of pain" on his face and the stopped heartbeat reflect his anguish at the separation, but he refuses to take the blame for their failed connection.
The chorus of the song, "It takes a fool to learn that love don't love nobody," serves as a refrain that imparts the hard lesson that love is not guaranteed to anyone, and we must accept that it may not always work out as we want it to. The repeated lines "Love love love love love love" emphasize the irony of how we often focus on the idea of love, yet it remains elusive and uncertain. The final verses of the song suggest that the singer has come to terms with the reality that we must be careful when it comes to matters of the heart, and it takes a fool to learn that love is not always what we expect it to be.
Overall, "Don" is a poignant song that explores the bittersweet nature of love, its ability to bring us joy and pain in equal measure. Through its lyrics, the song teaches us to approach love with caution and to accept that sometimes, even our most profound love may not be enough to make a relationship work.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes a girl
Occasionally a woman
Will come and go
Will enter and then depart
You reach for love
You strive to obtain affection
But life wont let ya know
But fate won't inform you
That in the end
That ultimately
You'll still be loving her
You'll continue to have affection for her
But then shes gone
But then she departs
You're all alone
You're solitary
Sign of pain
Indication of agony
Is on my face, well
Is visible on my countenance
My heart beat stops
My heartbeat ceases
But I wont take the blame, no no
But I won't accept culpability
I gave her all the love I had within
I provided her with all the love I could offer
My love was strong
My affection was potent
Something went wrong, no! no!
Something went awry
It takes a fool to learn
Only a fool realizes
Yes sir
Indeed
That love don't love nobody
That affection doesn't have feelings for anyone
Love love love love love love
Affection, fondness, passion, attachment, sentimentality, devotion
Yes it does, girl
Yes, it truly doesn't love anyone
That love don't love no one
That love doesn't have feelings for anyone
Stop to think about it, well
Pause to ponder about it
Oh! Oh no!
Oh, no!
When you're down and out, shout about it
When you're in distress, proclaim it loudly
That love don't love no more
That love doesn't have feelings anymore
Tell the world, oh babe
Inform the world, oh dear
It takes a fool to learn
Only a fool realizes
Gotta be more careful about myself
I must be more cautious about myself
Whoa baby, took me a long time to learn, to learn, well
It took me a substantial amount of time to realize
I was a fool, you were a fool
I was naive, you were naive
Now we got love, we need love
Now we possess love, we require love
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOSEPH BANKS JEFFERSON, CHARLES B. SIMMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Wilkes
Absolutely fabulous. Saw him in SFO a long time ago, and didn't want to hear anyone else for a year. A class on his own.
shirley
Thank You to whom ever "liked" my comment about Gene Harrison's Music! In am a Jazz /Classical Musician/ who has a different stage name than the one I used on this sight! I seem to always come up with unique comments and appreciate when someone says they like them! Yes! I did find the piano stylings of Gene Harris totally "Oosy Bloosy!" Prior to hearing his music on this video, I had only heard the name Gene Harris! It was amazing to learn more about him and discover that he and I play blues in identical styles! So, that's a good feeling, upon learning how popular he was in the Jazz Genre, although I am equally versed in the Classical Genre! Of course Jazz is my most favorite music to play due to improvisation and the freedom it lends to endless creativity for a pianist to explore! I have heard d jays say that Jazz is America's Classical Music, but I totally disagree with that statement! That statement puts limitations on Jazz, which I believe Stands On It's Own, totally Separate from Classical Music in every way. Jazz has nothing to do with America, who may try to "claim" it now days because it is popular and took hundreds of years you be excepted, so to speak! Jazz Music does no need to be identified as America's Classical Music! Jazz was born out of the struggle of black people,who the greatest and most creative people who ever walked this Planet! If only they collectively knew it! Blues Music gave predated Jazz Music, and I still would not agree to Blues being labeled as America's Classical Music either! Anyone claiming that is ignorant of a lot of facts for making such a claim! Classical Music is purely European! And that's that! America can listen and enjoy Jazz and Blues, but it has no right to claim either genre as America's Classical Music! Not after black musicians suffered, starved, died, was humiliated and mistreated while creating the greatest music in the world! And yet, neither Jazz or Blues Music is placed or supported on the same pedestal with Classical Music! America does not deserve to claim Jazz Music as its America's Classical Music! On the contrary! They both stand Alone and Separate! Both Jazz and Blues Music was born out of the hard times, struggles and mistreatment of black people! Have you ever heard white people sing the Blues? Or sing Jazz? OMG! They just can't! Some come close! But they never sound right! Although blacks have always pretended to be gracious to thier faces! Although Black Opera singers like Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry and thousands of other black singers have gone to Europe and sung Opera Music better than the Europeans in German, Italian, French, Russian etc! And Dominated it All. And those are only minor examples of the greatness, creativity and genius of what blacks bring when they are given a fair opportunity. Even the first automobile was invented by a black man! Henry Ford only mass produced what a black man had already invented! The very first University in the world was established in Africa inTimbuktu! Europe sat at the foot of Africa for hundreds of years, in order to learn Government, Medicine, Math etc. Africans had thriving civilizations for 5,000 years, while Europeans were living in Caves, and hundreds of years after Europeans were only Barbarians! (as Conen the Barbarian types) but much worse! They're Raw Meat Eaters Appetite is Natural, and dates back to thousands of years as Cave Dwellers! The first cell phone was created by a black man, who created the Morse Code! I could go on and on about the facts that have been purposely hidden! African slaves were not dumb savages that the slave trade wanted the world to believe. Thousands of them were artisans, master ship builders, etc. Unfortunately, Africans so many tribes did not get along, enslaving other enemy tribes! Which gave rise to the transcontinental slave trade! The white man did not just walk into Africa and capture black people. Thousands were captured and sold to them by other Africans! Much of the same thing exists today, as blacks do not get along in the neighborhoods. If only they could collectively know the greatness from whence they came! And simply show more love and concern starting in rekindling with the family unit and eventually it could spread throughout the inner city neighborhoods! Before you know it, our Citys and States would be so full of black love and caring that no other people would dare harm blacks again! Something must be done, as every city in America is going through gentrification! Which, I believe is another world for annialation! Are blacks on the cusp of extinction, while the world waits and watches! They must join with family friends to fight for to remain in the urban areas, and not continue to be pushed around and pushed out! No Justice, No Peace! Wake Up! Go Underground and Stop the Crime and rid the black areas of everything that holds them back! This time must be a quiet, underground national movement about love, respect and honoring thier own! It must be underground and secret, to protect the lives and identity if those that will be willing to risk thier own lives to save the lives of all blacks and thier futures! Because you know there are thousands of whites as well as black uncle tom's who do not want to see blacks come together! Everybody, but the black man has capitalized from the misery and mistreatment of African Americans! Blacks can shut down the violence, the police and the jail system by collectively looking at how blacks have made these systems rich, due to the failure of blacks to see how they have always been negatively affected and neglected by this system! Love to the Greatest People in the World! If we could simply teach our own children that , backed up by research and data that would start a World-Wide Movement, in itself! The black presence is in every country if the world, dating back thousands of years! Christopher Columbus never made it to America and he certainly did not discover America! Indigenous People, including some African people had already been here! Africans were Master Ship builders, who traveled to Europe and conquered and occupied many places over thousands of years! Look Sweden, Japan, Mexico, South America, Asia etc. They all have remnants of an African Presence dating back thousands of Years! Rome still prays to the Black MaDonna and Child! Hundreds of the Priests and Popes were Black! It is definitely confirmed that the real Jesus was a black man! Yes, world religion has lied and gotten away with it, until now! Hotep! Only % of enslaved Africans were brought to America. And all the Africans sent away were Hebrew Isralites! That is suppose to be in the Bible, which is a book that I look at with much suspicion. As King James was a known homosexual who hired scholars to help put that bible together! So many lies need to be researched and looked at and uncovered, so black people can find out about who they are and where they came from. It is a most fascinating and amazing story of the greatest, most resilient and most creative people who ever Walked the earth! All human life originated from Africa! A proven Scientific Fact! Run and Tell That, My People!
shirley
So sophisticatingly oosy bloosy! Just Great ! To whom ever! Thank You for Sharing!
Gerry Kaminsky
Gorgeous!!!
Peter Durkin
finest jazz pianist every!
Peter Durkin
Best damn pianist...ever