Mobley was born in Eastman, Georgia, but was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, near Newark. Early in his career, he worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach. He took part in one of the landmark hard bop sessions, alongside Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Doug Watkins and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. The results of these sessions were released as Horace Silver & the Jazz Messengers. They contrasted with the classical pretensions of cool jazz, with Mobley's rich lyricism being bluesier, alongside the funky approach of Horace Silver. When The Jazz Messengers split in 1956, Mobley continued on with pianist Horace Silver for a short time, although he did work again with Blakey some years later, when the drummer appeared on Mobley's albums in the early 60s.
During the 1960s, he worked chiefly as a leader, recording 25 albums for Blue Note Records, including Soul Station and Roll Call, between 1955 and 1970. He performed with many of the most important hard bop players, such as Grant Green, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Clark, Wynton Kelly and Philly Joe Jones, and formed a particularly productive partnership with trumpeter Lee Morgan. Mobley is widely recognized as one of the great composers of originals in the hard-bop era, with interesting chord changes and room for soloists to spread out.
His 1961 album, Another Workout, while considered an instant classic, was inexplicably not released until 1985.
Mobley also spent a brief time in 1961 with Miles Davis, during the trumpeter's search for a replacement for John Coltrane. He is heard on the album Someday My Prince Will Come (alongside Coltrane, who returned for the recording of some tracks), and some live recordings (Miles Davis - In Person Friday And Saturday Nights At The Blackhawk, Complete and At Carnegie Hall). Though considered by some as not having the improvisational fire of Coltrane, Mobley was still a major voice on tenor saxophone, known for his melodic playing.
Mobley was forced to retire in the mid-1970s due to lung problems. He worked briefly with Duke Jordan before his death from pneumonia in 1986.
How Deep Is The Ocean
Hank Mobley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How many times a day do I think of you?
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How far would I travel
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How high is the sky?
The song "How Deep Is The Ocean" is a classic love song that captures the depth and intensity of a person's feelings for their significant other. The lyrics reflect the idea that the singer's love is boundless, with comparisons to the vastness of the ocean and sky. The first few lines set the tone for the entire song as the singer admits that they will not lie when they say they love someone.
The second stanza of the song demonstrates how the singer is constantly thinking of their lover, with a playful comparison of the number of roses sprinkled with dew to the number of times they think of their significant other each day. The third stanza uses imagery to showcase the lengths the singer would go to be with their lover, including traveling from Earth to a star.
The final lines of the song express the fear of losing their lover with a rhetorical question about how much they would cry if that ever happened. The repetition of the chorus at the end of the song emphasizes the infinite depth and height of the love that the singer has for their significant other.
Line by Line Meaning
How much do I love you?
I want to express the depth of my love for you
I'll tell you no lie
I promise to always be honest with you
How deep is the ocean?
I'm wondering if my love for you could be as vast as the ocean
How high is the sky?
I'm wondering if my love for you could be as infinite as the sky
How many times a day do I think of you?
I think about you constantly, every day and every moment
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
I'm asking a rhetorical question, to indicate that my love for you is beyond measure
How far would I travel
I would go to great lengths to be with you
To be where you are?
Because being with you is everything to me
How far is the journey
Even if the journey is long and difficult, it will be worth it to be with you
From here to a star?
I'm using hyperbole to express the great distance I would travel to be with you
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
The thought of losing you is unbearable, and it would make me cry endlessly
How deep is the ocean?
Again, I'm using the metaphor of the ocean to express the depth of my love for you
How high is the sky?
Again, I'm using the metaphor of the sky to express the infinite magnitude of my love for you
How high is the sky?
I'm repeating this question as a way of emphasizing the extent of my love for you
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gkallenbach
One of those instances when the the whole is very much greater than the sum of its parts. Thanks for this! I misplaced my copy and had * headsmack! * forgotten it existed.
@musimages23
i hear it as al hank trane and zoot? altho who ever is at the end does a riff that I have heard hank do at this time but its tricky at times? i recently did a collage where i used 12 versions of trhis beautiful song
@MariettePetravandenBerg
enjoying this so much!!
@caiovaz3812
Al, Red, Zoot, Paul, Coltrane, Hank!! On that order right?
@brownkemosabe
Correctomundo!
@postatility9703
This creates a beautiful mood,that of a relaxed post-sex cigarette.
@jorgek92
8:14 tribute to Ave Maria by Franz Schubert?
@Kay-lc4ku
Stunning tune, Hank's solo is truly gorgeous, playful, fresh & compliments the track's relaxed, slightly melancholic vibe, Coltrane comes in louuud, as usual then mellows down, pleasant solo but lacks subtlety, as is often the case with John, Zoot & Al are a smooth delight. I just wish we'd gotten a solemn bass solo instead of that stiff cello solo.
@gregcurtis3441
worst recording of a cello in history
@nathanlansford1882
Lags a bit in the middle--and it takes too long, overall.
Sorry, but it's true.