George Benson is a jazz guitarist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on … Read Full Bio ↴George Benson is a jazz guitarist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on 22 March 1943. He started out playing straight-ahead instrumental jazz with organist Jack McDuff. Benson got his first experience playing with his several-year stint with McDuff's group. In 1964, at the age of 21, Benson recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss Guitar, with Brother Jack McDuff on organ.

Benson's next recording was It's Uptown with the George Benson Quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax. This album showcases Benson's talent in constructing swinging bebop lines at blistering tempos. Benson followed it up with "The George Benson Cookbook," also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber.

One of his major hits is the song "This Masquerade", which is included in the top-selling album Breezin' . This album represents a shift to more commercially oriented music which brought Benson a wider audience but alienated some jazz fans. Other singles that have made the Billboard Hot 100 charts include "On Broadway" (1978), "Love Ballad" (1979), "Give Me The Night" (1980) and "Turn Your Love Around" (1982).

Benson continues to play outstanding jazz guitar, as evidenced on recordings such as Jimmy Smith's Off the Top, Benson's own live album Par Excellence, and Tenderly, on which Benson is accompanied by McCoy Tyner on piano.

For his contribution to the recording industry, George Benson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7055 Hollywood Blvd.

ClockWise
George Benson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my gal and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time

Life is bare
Gloom and misery everywhere

Stormy weather
Just can't get my poor old self together

I'm weary all the time
Every time
So weary all of the time

When she went away
The blues walked in and then they met me
If she stays away
That old rocking chair's bound to get me
All I do is pray

The lord above will let me
Just walk in that sun again
Can't go on
Everything I had is gone

Stormy weather
Since my gal and I ain't together

Keeps raining all the time
Keeps raining all of the time

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of George Benson's "Clockwise" express the feelings of a man who is in a state of despair because his girlfriend has left him. The opening lines reveal his feelings of hopelessness and despair as he laments about the absence of the sun in the sky; he goes on to describe his life as being miserable and filled with gloom. He reveals that he is unable to put himself together and is weighed down by weariness.

As the song progresses, the man reveals the extent of his pain, sadness and loneliness. He describes how the blues have walked into his life since his girlfriend left him and how he fears he will be stuck in an old rocking chair if she does not return. The man finds himself praying that God will bring back the sun into his life and that he will have the strength to go on even though he has lost everything.

Overall, the lyrics of "Clockwise" are a moving portrait of the pain of a man who has lost the love of his life. The song explores themes of loneliness, despair, and the search for hope in difficult times.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't know why
I am confused and unsure about my current situation

There's no sun up in the sky
The weather is gloomy and there is no light or joy in my life

Stormy weather
My life is full of turbulence and difficulties

Since my gal and I ain't together
My separation from my loved one is what initiated this rough patch

Keeps raining all the time
My troubles and sorrows keep increasing and don't seem to end

Life is bare
My existence is empty and lacking in meaning

Gloom and misery everywhere
There is a pervading sadness and negativity in my environment

Just can't get my poor old self together
I am unable to find the strength to put myself back on track

I'm weary all the time
I am constantly tired and drained of energy

Every time
At all times

So weary all of the time
I am feeling exhausted and fatigued all throughout