Gil Mellé (December 31, 1931 – October 28, 2004) was an artist, jazz musici… Read Full Bio ↴Gil Mellé (December 31, 1931 – October 28, 2004) was an artist, jazz musician and film composer.

In the 1950s, Mellé's paintings and sculptures were shown in New York galleries and he created the cover art for albums by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins. Mellé played the tenor and baritone saxophone with George Wallington, Max Roach, Tal Farlow, Oscar Pettiford, Ed Thigpen, Kenny Dorham and Zoot Sims.

As a film and television composer, Mellé was one of the first to use electronic instruments (which he built himself), either alone or as an added voice among the string, wind, brass, and percussion sections of the orchestra. He was the first to compose a main theme for a television series arranged entirely for electronic instruments (Rod Serling's Night Gallery).

His film credits span 125 motion pictures including My Sweet Charlie, That Certain Summer, The Andromeda Strain, The Judge and Jake Wyler, several Columbo TV movies, Frankenstein: The True Story, The Six Million Dollar Man and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Melle died of a heart attack at his home in Malibu, California.

The Nearness of You
Gil Mellé Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Its not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me, oh no
Its just the nearness of you

It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation, oh no
Its just the nearness of you

When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams come true

I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you'll only grant me the right

To hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night the nearness of you

Overall Meaning

The song "The Nearness of You" by Gil Melle speaks of a feeling of contentment and satisfaction that comes from being close to someone special, rather than from material things or superficial experiences. The singer emphasizes how it's not the celestial bodies or the engaging conversation they share that make them feel thrilled, but the simple act of being close to each other. The singer says their wildest dreams come true when they hold their partner close, and that they need no fancy lighting or external stimuli to feel enchanted. All they desire is to have the right to hold them tight and feel their nearness in the night. The song exudes a sense of peacefulness and satisfaction with being close to one's beloved.

Line by Line Meaning

Its not the pale moon that excites me
It is not the external beauty that excites me.

That thrills and delights me, oh no
That gives me a feeling of enthusiasm and pleasure.

Its just the nearness of you
It is just being close to you.

It isn't your sweet conversation
It is not your sweet words that captivate me.

That brings this sensation, oh no
That creates this feeling in me.

Its just the nearness of you
It is just being close to you.

When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me
When I hold you in my arms and feel you near me.

All my wildest dreams come true
All my deepest desires are fulfilled.

I need no soft lights to enchant me
I do not need any external factors to make me fall in love with you.

If you'll only grant me the right
If only you would let me.

To hold you ever so tight
To hold you tightly.