Gibbs was the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish immigrant parents.Her father died when she was six months old, and she spent her first seven years in an orphanage in Worcester, separated from her other siblings.
She revealed a natural talent for singing at a very young age, and was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. She was reunited with her mother (who had visited her once every other month) when the latter found employment as a midwife. However, her job often forced her to leave her daughter alone for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company.
Gibbs began her professional career at the age of thirteen, and was singing in Boston's Raymor Ballroom the following year. She cut her first record with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1936 (aged 16 or 17). "You don't really know loneliness unless you do a year or two with a one-night band, Gibbs said of her life on the big band circuit. sing until about 2 a.m. Get in a bus and drive 400 miles. Stop in the night for the greasy hamburger. Arrive in a town. Try to sleep. Get up and eat." (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 12, 1994.)
She soon found steady work on popular radio shows including Your Hit Parade, Melody Puzzles and The Tim And Irene Show. Gibbs freelanced in the late 1930s and 1940s singing with the bands of Frankie Trumbauer, Hal Kemp, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. It was with Shaw's band (then billed as Fredda Gibson) that she scored her first hit, Absent Minded Moon (1942).
In 1943, she changed her name to Georgia Gibbs and began appearing on the popular Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore (it was Moore who bestowed the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs" upon her). The nickname is a playful reference to her diminutive stature of barely over 5 feet. She was a regular performer on this show until 1947.
Gibbs signed with Majestic Records in 1946, and while she recorded many great records she would have to wait until 1950 for her first hit single, If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake (on the Coral label). During this period she also was the featured singer on tours with comedians Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar. Miss Gibbs had a natural talent for comedy as well, and worked well in support of the immensely popular Kaye. But success as a singer continued to elude her. As noted in a 1952 Time article:
"Georgia," they kept telling her, "you gotta get a sound." Musical soothsayers were trying to get Songstress Georgia Gibbs into line with the latest fashion. Perhaps, they thought, she should sing mechanized duets with herself (like Patti Page), or she might try an echo chamber background (like Peggy Lee). But gimmicks were not Georgia Gibbs's cup of tea. She had a big, old-fashioned voice, a good ear, a vivacious personality, and she knew how to sing from the shoulder. She would stick with plain Georgia Gibbs.
And she eventually had success "sticking with plain Georgia Gibbs". Possessed of a versatile voice, she cut a long list of great records in every category from torch songs to rock-and-roll, to jazz, swing, old fashioned ballads and cha-chas. Her most successful record was Kiss Of Fire which reached the #1 position on the pop music charts in 1952. Kiss of Fire was adapted from the Argentinian tango El Choclo and the lyrics, arrangement and delivery communicate passion on a Wagnerian scale. It immediately became one of the defining songs of the era.
Sultry and throbbing, with a touch of vibrato, Georgia Gibbs' voice is best showcased on romantic ballads and torch songs like Melancholy Baby, I'll Be Seeing You, Autumn Leaves and You Keep Coming Back Like A Song. Yet she could be equally thrilling belting out a red hot jazz numbers like Red Hot Mama and A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz, or jiving with tunes like Ol Man Mose and Shoo Shoo Baby. Her Swingin' With Her Nibbs album (1956) demonstrated her natural affinity for improvisation as well.
Gibbs continued to be a frequent visitor to the charts throughout the first half of the decade (with over 40 charted songs), and was briefly successful doing rock 'n' roll songs as well. She appeared on many television shows throughout the decade, including the legendary Ed Sullivan show, and hosted one of her own, Georgia Gibbs And Her Million Record Show. She cut her final album, Call Me (1966) and rarely performed after that.
She spent many years being best known for her cover versions of Etta James' The Wallflower (recorded by Gibbs with modified lyrics under the title Dance With Me Henry) and of LaVern Baker's Tweedle Dee (which created some ado due to Ms. Baker's vociferous complaints) and for her novelty number The Hula Hoop Song, which was her last hit, in 1958.
Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 87, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
I'm Walking the Floor Over You
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't sleep a wink, that is true
I'm hopin' and I'm praying
As my heart breaks right in two
I'm walkin' the floor over you
You left me and you went away
You said that you'd be back in just a day
And you left me here alone
I don't know why you did dear
But I do know that you're gone
I'm walkin' the floor over you
I can't sleep a wink, that is true
I'm hopin' and I'm praying
As my heart breaks right in two
I'm walkin' the floor over you
Now someday you may be lonesome too
Well, honey, walkin' the floor is good for you
You just keep right on walkin' and it won't hurt you to cry
Remember that I love you and I will the day I die
I'm walkin' the floor over you
I can't sleep a wink, that is true
I'm hopin' and I'm praying
As my heart breaks right in two
I'm walkin' the floor over you
The lyrics to Georgia Gibbs's song "I'm Walking the Floor Over You" tell the story of a woman who is suffering from a broken heart after her lover has left her. The first stanza describes her restlessness as she cannot sleep and is walking the floor, hoping and praying that her lover will return. The second stanza reveals that her lover had promised to be back in just a day but has broken that promise and left her alone. She does not understand why he left, but she knows that he is gone.
The final stanza of the song, however, takes on a more confident tone. The woman tells her lover, who may someday be lonely too, that walking the floor can be good for him. She encourages him to keep walking and crying, knowing that she will always love him. Even though the woman is heartbroken and suffering from the pain of her lover's absence, she remains strong and encourages her lover to do the same.
Overall, the song portrays the emotions of heartbreak, longing, and hopelessness, but also speaks to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm walkin' the floor over you
I am restless and unable to sleep due to the pain of missing you
I can't sleep a wink, that is true
I am truly unable to find rest or peace since you've been gone
I'm hopin' and I'm praying
I am clinging to hope that you will return and praying for a sign that you still care
As my heart breaks right in two
My heart feels shattered and broken since you left
You left me and you went away
You left me behind and went away without any explanation
You said that you'd be back in just a day
You promised to come back within a day's time, but you didn't keep your promise
Well, you've broken your promise
You failed to keep your word, even though I was counting on you
And you left me here alone
You left me behind to deal with the pain and loneliness on my own
I don't know why you did dear
I don't understand why you left me and what made you change your mind
But I do know that you're gone
All I know for sure is that you're no longer here with me
Now someday you may be lonesome too
One day you may also feel lonely and experience the same pain that I am feeling now
Well, honey, walkin' the floor is good for you
As a way of coping with sadness, walking around can be helpful and therapeutic
You just keep right on walkin' and it won't hurt you to cry
Crying is a natural response to heartbreak, so it's okay to let your emotions out while walking
Remember that I love you and I will the day I die
Despite everything that has happened, my love for you will never fade and will continue until the end of my life
Contributed by Nolan S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
whispperson
Love listening to this incredible talented lady.
Ryan
… You left me and you went away
You said that you'd be back in just a day
You've broken your promise and you left me here alone
I don't know why you did dear but I do know that you're gone
… I'm walking the floor over you
I'm walking the floor over you
I can't sleep a wink that is true
I'm hoping and I'm praying as my heart breaks right in two
Walking the floor over you
… Now darling, you know I love you well
Love you more than I can ever tell
I thought that you wanted me and always would be mine
But you went and left me here with troubles on my mind
… I'm walking the floor over you
I can't sleep a wink that is true
I'm hoping and I'm praying as my heart breaks right in two
Walking the floor over you
… Now someday you may be lonesome to
Walking the floor is good for you
Just keep right on walking and it won't hurt you to cry
Remember that I love you and I will the day I die
… I'm walking the floor over you
I can't sleep a wink that is true
I'm hoping and I'm praying as my heart breaks right in two
Walking the floor over you