At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he formed his own campus jazz group, the Carolina Club Orchestra. The band recorded for English Columbia and Perfect/Pathe records in 1924-5. This first group toured Europe in the summer of 1924 under the sponsorship of popular bandleader Paul Specht. Kemp returned to UNC in 1925 and put together a new edition of the Carolina Club Orchestra, featuring fellow classmates and future stars John Scott Trotter, Saxie Dowell, and Skinnay Ennis. In 1927 Kemp turned leadership of the Carolina Club Orchestra over to fellow UNC student Kay Kyser and turned professional. The band was based in New York City, and included Trotter, Dowell, and Ennis, and a few years later trumpeters Bunny Berigan and Jack Purvis joined the group. The sound was 1920s collegiate jazz. Kemp once again toured Europe in the summer of 1930. This band recorded regularly for Brunswick, English Duophone, Okeh and Melotone Records.
In 1932, during the height of the Depression, Kemp decided to lead the band in a new direction, changing the orchestra's style to a that of a dance band (often mistakenly referred to as "sweet"), using muted triple-tonguing trumpets, clarinets playing low sustained notes in unison through large megaphones (an early version of the echo chamber effect), and a double-octave piano.
One of the main reasons for the band's success was arranger John Scott Trotter. Singer Skinnay Ennis had difficulty sustaining notes, so Trotter came up with the idea of filling in these gaps with muted trumpets playing staccato triplets. This gave the band a unique sound, which Johnny Mercer jokingly referred to as sounding like a "typewriter." The saxes often played very complex extremely difficult passages which won them the praise of fellow musicians. Vocalists with the band at this time included Ennis, Dowell, Bob Allen, Deane Janis, Maxine Gray, Judy Starr, Nan Wynn, and Janet Blair. During the 1930s, Kemp recorded for Brunswick, Vocalion and (RCA) Victor records. Hal Kemp, [artistKay Kyser and Tal Henry were often having a Carolinian reunion in New York. All three were great musicians from North Carolina and enjoyed the olde' time get together, according to the newspaper from Chapel Hill, NC where Hal and Kay were in school.
Kemp's band introduced or promoted numerous popular songs, including "Got a Date With an Angel", "Lamplight", "Heart of Stone", "There's a Small Hotel" and "Three Little Fishies" (written by the band's saxophonist, Saxie Dowell).
In 1936, Hal Kemp was number one for two weeks with "There's a Small Hotel" and two weeks with "When I'm With You". In 1937, his number one hits were "This Year's Kisses", which was number one for four weeks, and "Where or When", which was number one for one week.
Hal Kemp's compositions included "Blue Rhythm", "In Dutch with the Duchess", "Five Steps to Love", "Off the Beat", and "Workout". His brother T.D. Kemp, Jr. and sister Marie Kemp-Dunaway, in collaboration with bandleader Whitey Kaufman, wrote "Hurry Back, Old Sweetheart of Mine" which was an early Kemp recording. Contrary to popular belief, Hal did not compose his theme song "(How I'll Miss You) When the Summer is Gone", but purchased the rights to the song in 1937. Also, there is no evidence that he composed "The Same Time, the Same Place".
On December 19, 1940, while driving from Los Angeles to a booking in San Francisco, his car hit another head on. Kemp suffered a broken leg and multiple broken ribs, one of which eventually punctured a lung. He developed pneumonia while in the hospital and two days later died.
In 1992, Hal Kemp was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
It's Only A Paper Moon
Hal Kemp and his Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me
The song "It's Only a Paper Moon" by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra, first appeared in the 1930 musical "The Great Magoo". The song's lyrics express that reality is subjective and that, with the right mindset, even the most basic things or situations can be magical. The paper moon and canvas sky may seem fake in the real world but with the belief in someone's love, it could become real. The phrase "It's only" in the refrain repeats the message that what may seem insignificant or unimportant can take on a deeper meaning with the right perspective or outlook.
In the second half of the song, the lyrics discuss the negative impact of not having love. The music transforms from a light and playful tune to a somber melody, giving a sense of loss and loneliness. The phrase "It's a honky-tonk parade" and "melody played in a penny arcade" reflects a jovial facade hiding true sadness. The song concludes with a plea for belief, the singer yearns for the listener to have faith in them, for without that, the world is nothing more than "a Barnum and Bailey" a fake world of circus performing, and it is not as enjoyable.
Line by Line Meaning
Say, it's only a paper moon
Let me tell you, this moon is made of paper
Sailing over a cardboard sea
It's floating over an ocean made of cardboard
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Yes, this sky is just a painting
Hanging over a muslin tree
Suspended over a tree made of muslin
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
Without your love
If I didn't have your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
It's a rowdy and tacky party
Without your love
If I didn't have your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a tune played by a cheap music player
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
It's a circus, a showy world
Just as phony as it can be
It's as fake as it gets
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Let me tell you, this moon is made of paper
Sailing over a cardboard sea
It's floating over an ocean made of cardboard
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Yes, this sky is just a painting
Hanging over a muslin tree
Suspended over a tree made of muslin
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
Without your love
If I didn't have your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
It's a rowdy and tacky party
Without your love
If I didn't have your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a tune played by a cheap music player
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
It's a circus, a showy world
Just as phony as it can be
It's as fake as it gets
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
It's phony it's plain to see
It's obviously fake
How happy I would be
I would be very happy
If you believed in me
If you trusted me
Lyrics © S.A. MUSIC, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Rose, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind