Mulligan started on the piano before learning clarinet and the various saxophones. His initial reputation was as an arranger. In 1944 he wrote charts for Johnny Warrington's radio band and soon was making contributions to the books of Tommy Tucker and George Paxton. He moved to New York in 1946 and joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra as a staff arranger; his most notable chart was "Disc Jockey Jump." The rare times he played with Krupa's band was on alto and the same situation existed when he was with Claude Thornhill in 1948.
Gerry Mulligan's first notable recorded work on baritone was with Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool nonet (1948-50) but once again his arrangements ("Godchild," "Darn That Dream" and three of his originals "Jeru," "Rocker" and "Venus de Milo") were more significant than his short solos. Mulligan spent much of 1949 writing for Elliot Lawrence's orchestra and playing anonymously in the saxophone section. It was not until 1951 that he began to get a bit of attention for his work on baritone. Mulligan recorded with his own nonet for Prestige, displaying an already recognizable sound. After he traveled to Los Angeles, he wrote some arrangements for Stan Kenton (including "Youngblood," "Swing House" and "Walking Shoes"), worked at the Lighthouse and then gained a regular Monday night engagement at the Haig. Around this time Mulligan realized that he enjoyed the extra freedom of soloing without a pianist. He jammed with trumpeter Chet Baker and soon their magical rapport was featured in his piano-less quartet. The group caught on quickly in 1952 and made both Mulligan and Baker into stars.
A drug bust put Mulligan out of action and ended that quartet but, when he was released from jail in 1954, Mulligan began a new musical partnership with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer that was just as successful. Trumpeter Jon Eardley and Zoot Sims on tenor occasionally made the group a sextet and in 1958 trumpeter Art Farmer was featured in Mulligan's Quartet. Being a very flexible player with respect for other stylists, Mulligan went out of his way to record with some of the great musicians he admired. At the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival he traded off with baritonist Harry Carney on "Prima Bara Dubla" while backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and during 1957-60 he recorded separate albums with Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges. Mulligan played on the classic Sound of Jazz television special in 1958 and appeared in the movies I Want to Live and The Subterraneans.
During 1960-64 Mulligan led his Concert Jazz Band which gave him an opportunity to write, play baritone and occasionally double on piano. The orchestra at times included Brookmeyer, Sims, Clark Terry and Mel Lewis. Mulligan was a little less active after the big band broke up but he toured extensively with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1968-72), had a part-time big band in the 1970s (the Age of Steam), doubled on soprano for a period, led a mid-'70s sextet that included vibraphonist Dave Samuels, and in 1986 jammed on a record with Scott Hamilton. In the 1990s he toured the world with his excellent "no-name" quartet and led a "Rebirth of the Cool Band" that performed and recorded remakes of the Miles Davis Nonet classics. Up until the end, Gerry Mulligan was always eager to play. Gerry Mulligan died on January 20th, 1996 in Darien, CT.
Among Mulligan's compositions were "Walkin' Shoes," "Line for Lyons," "Bark for Barksdale," "Nights at the Turntable," "Utter Chaos," "Soft Shoe," "Bernie's Tune," "Blueport," "Song for Strayhorn," "Song for an Unfinished Woman" and "I Never Was a Young Man" (which he often sang). He recorded extensively through the years for such labels as Prestige, Pacific Jazz, Capitol, Vogue, EmArcy, Columbia, Verve, Milestone, United Artists, Philips, Limelight, A&M, CTI, Chiaroscuro, Who's Who, DRG, Concord and GRP. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
Gerry Mulligan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when you smiled at me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
That it was love at sight and
I was right to love you as I do.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
When you are not around.
Ev'ry thing goes wrong, my dear I've found
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
For I'm so proud of you
It all seems too good to me to all be true
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I never knew what they could do.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
The lyrics of Gerry Mulligan's song "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me" express the disbelief of the singer over the fact that the person they love also loves them back. In the first verse, the singer describes how they felt a thrill upon seeing the person smile at them, and how they never imagined that the person could return their love. The second verse reflects the singer's ongoing disbelief as they remark on how others are surprised that the person is in love with them, and how they have always placed the person above themselves.
The lyrics continue to describe how the singer's love for the person makes everything seem too good to be true, and how they are filled with pride when the person is by their side. However, when the person is not around, the singer is left feeling blue and everything seems to go wrong. Overall, the song expresses a mix of disbelief, gratitude, and awe at the power of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday you came my way,
You appeared in my life yesterday,
And when you smiled at me,
When you smiled at me, a feeling of happiness came over me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
I felt a flutter in my heart,
That it was love at sight and
I knew that it was love at first sight
I was right to love you as I do.
It was not a mistake to love you the way I do.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
However, I never thought that you could love me back.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
Your eyes and your kisses have a profound effect on me.
I never knew what they could do.
I never realized the power your eyes and your kisses had.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
You are informing everyone we know
I'm on your mind each place we go
You are constantly thinking about me wherever we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
Others find it hard to believe that you love me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I have always viewed you as superior to me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
It is hard for me to fathom that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
Despite everything we have been through,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I consider myself extremely fortunate.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
My days are sad and gloomy
When you are not around.
When you're not with me,
Ev'ry thing goes wrong,
Everything seems to go wrong
my dear I've found
I have come to realize this,
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
However, when you are with me, I feel proud
For I'm so proud of you
I have great pride in you
It all seems too good to me to all be true
It all seems too wonderful and unbelievable to be true.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
Again, your beautiful eyes and kisses that have a strong effect on me.
I never knew what they could do.
Again, I never knew the depths of their effect on me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
Reiterated - again, you are telling everyone we know
I'm on your mind each place we go
Again, I am always on your mind wherever we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
Again, others find it hard to believe that you love me.
I have always placed you far above me.
Reiterated - I have always looked at you as being better than me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
Reiterated - it's hard for me to imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
Reiterated - despite all that we have been through
To think that I'm the lucky one.
Reiterated - I consider myself incredibly lucky.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Capitol CMG Publishing, Spirit Music Group, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLARENCE GASKILL, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind