Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a traveling circus. By age 10 he was taking trumpet lessons from his father. His father had him on a very strict practicing schedule every day. He was given one page to learn out of the Arban's book (a trumpet drill book) every day and could not do anything until he learned that page.
In 1931 the family settled in Beaumont, Texas and James began playing with local dance bands. James joined the nationally popular Ben Pollack in 1935. At the start of 1937 he left Pollack to join Benny Goodman's orchestra, where he stayed through 1938.
In February of 1939 Harry James debuted his own big band in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He continued touring with the band into the 1980s. His was the first "name band" to employ vocalist Frank Sinatra, in 1939. In 1943 he married actress Betty Grable.
His first wife was ex B.Goodman singer.,Louise Tobin.
You can hear his trumpet playing in the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn, dubbing Kirk Douglas. His recording of "I'm Beginning to See the Light" appears in the motion picture My Dog Skip (2000). James recorded many popular records and appeared in many Hollywood movies.
In 1983, James was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, but he continued to work, playing his last professional job on 26 June 1983 in Los Angeles just nine days before his death in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Can't I
Harry James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How much you mean to me.
My world would end if ever we were through.
I can't begin to tell you
How happy I would be
If I could speak my mind like others do.
Whenever we?re apart,
But when your near
The words I choose
Refuse to leave my heart.
So take the sweetest phrases
The world has ever known
And make believe
I've said them all to you.
The song I Can't Begin To Tell You by Harry James is a romantic ballad about a person who is unable to express their emotions to the one they love. The opening line "I can't begin to tell you, how much you mean to me" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer expresses that they are unable to express their love and how important their loved one is to them. The lyrics imply that the person's world would end if they ever lost their loved one, indicating that they are deeply in love and cannot imagine life without them.
The second verse of the song adds an additional layer of emotion with the line "I can't begin to tell you how happy I would be, if I could speak my mind like others do." This line implies that the singer feels a sense of frustration that they are unable to express their emotions to their loved one adequately. The third verse indicates that the person is capable of making pretty speeches when they are not around their loved one, but when they are, the words refuse to leave their heart.
The final verse is a request to the loved one to believe that the singer has said all the sweetest phrases the world has ever known. This line implies that the person is willing to do anything to make their loved one happy, even if it means pretending to have said all the things that they cannot express.
Overall, the lyrics of I Can't Begin To Tell You convey the message that sometimes words are not enough to express the depth of one's emotions, and that actions and gestures can often speak louder than words.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't begin to tell you
I am at a loss for words to express my feelings for you
How much you mean to me.
The depth of my affection for you is immeasurable
My world would end if ever we were through.
Losing you would devastate me completely
How happy I would be
I would be overjoyed beyond belief
If I could speak my mind like others do.
I wish I could communicate my feelings for you as freely as others are able to
I make such pretty speeches
I am proficient in using flowery language
Whenever we're apart,
In times when we are not together
But when you're near
When you are in close proximity to me
The words I choose
My chosen words
Refuse to leave my heart.
Fail to escape my heart and be spoken aloud
So take the sweetest phrases
Please accept the most endearing and charming expressions
The world has ever known
From the most renowned and beloved expressions ever uttered
And make believe
Imagine or pretend
I've said them all to you.
That I have expressed my truest feelings to you through them
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES V. MONACO, MACK GORDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@h.calvert3165
It's lovely to hear her singing with her husband's band. 🎙🎶
@Kinseydsp
H. Calvert Yes Upon Hearing This I learned to Play the Trumpet at 32 years Old And Played This Song Myself. one day. He was My Hero Saw Him the Last Time He went to Sunny Brook Ball room in Pottstown Pa with Lyn Roberts singing with him and Got His Audiograph. He was in His sixties and boy Could He Still Play. I Enjoyed it SO MUCH! Heard this song the first time on a 78 RPM Record like the On showing Hear. On My Grandmothers Victrola.
@InvictusAeterna
beautiful
@Kinseydsp
the78prof Thank you You for this song First Heard it on a 78 RPM Record like the one in the Picture on My Grandmothers Victrola Which I still Have heard Harry and at 32 years Old I learned to Play the trumpet and one Day I played this Song. Saw Harry at Sunny Brook Ballroom in Pottstown Pa. in His early 6o's. Got His Audiograp. THANK YOU!!
@the78prof72
My pleasure....glad that it brings back memories for you.
@gusalexandrakis5151
Notice that Ms. Grable's vocal is credited to Ruth Haag; this is an inside joke between her and her husband, Harry James, whose middle name was Haag. It was given him by his parents, in honor of their one-time employer, The Might Haag Circus, for whom Everett James (his father) worked as bandleader and Myrtle Maybelle Stewart (his mother) performed as an acrobat and horseback rider.