Mancini was born Enrico Nicola Mancini in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the steel town of West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His parents emigrated from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Mancini's father, Quinto, was a steelworker, who made his only child begin flute lessons at the age of eight. When Mancini was 12 years old, he began piano lessons. Quinto and Henry played flute together in the Aliquippa Italian immigrant band, "Sons of Italy". After high school, Mancini attended the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1943, after roughly one year at Juilliard, his studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the army. In 1945, he participated in the liberation of a South German concentration camp.
Mancini recorded over 90 albums, in styles ranging from big band to classical to pop. Eight of these albums were certified gold by The Recording Industry Association of America. He had a 20 year contract with RCA Records, resulting in 60 commercial record albums that made him a household name composer of easy listening music.
Mancini's range also extended to orchestral and ethnic scores (Lifeforce, The Great Mouse Detective, Sunflower, "Tom and Jerry: The Movie", Molly Maguires, The Hawaiians), and darker themes ("Experiment In Terror," "The White Dawn," "Wait Until Dark," "The Night Visitor").
Mancini was also a concert performer, conducting over fifty engagements per year, resulting in over 600 symphony performances during his lifetime. Among the symphony orchestras he conducted are the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He appeared in 1966, 1980 and 1984 in command performances for the British Royal Family. He also toured several times with Johnny Mathis and with Andy Williams, who had sung many of Mancini's songs.[citation needed]
Mancini had experience with acting and voice roles. In 1994 he made a one-off cameo appearance in the first season of the sitcom series Frasier, as a call-in patient to Dr. Frasier Crane's radio show. Mancini voiced the character Al, who speaks with a melancholy drawl and hates the sound of his own voice, in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?" Mancini also had an uncredited performance as a pianist in the 1967 movie Gunn, the movie version of the series Peter Gunn, the score of which was originally composed by Mancini himself.
Mancini was nominated for an unprecedented 72 Grammys, winning 20 Additionally he was nominated for 18 Academy Awards, winning four. He also won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for two Emmys.
Mancini won a total of four Oscars for his music in the course of his career.
Mancini died at the age of 70 in Beverly Hills/Los Angeles, California of pancreatic cancer. He was working at the time on the Broadway stage version of Victor/Victoria. At the time of his death, Mancini was married to singer Virginia "Ginny" O´Connor, with whom he had three children. Ginny Mancini went on to found the Society of Singers a non profit organization which benefits the health and welfare of professional singers worldwide. Additionally the Society awards scholarships to students pursuing an education in the vocal arts and holds the annual Ella Awards.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers(ASCAP) Foundation "Henry Mancini Music Scholarship" has been awarded annually since 2001.
High Noon
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On this, our weddin' day
Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'
Wait, wait along
I do not know what fate awaits me
I only know I must be brave
And I must face a man who hates me
Or lie a coward in my grave
Oh, to be torn 'twixt love and duty
S'posin' I lose my fair-haired beauty
Look at that big hand move along
Nearin' high noon
He made a vow while in state prison
Vowed it would be my life or his'n
I'm not afraid of death but oh
What will I do if you leave me?
Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'
You made that promise as a bride
Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'
Although you're grievin', don't think of leavin'
Now that I need you by my side
Wait along, (wait along) wait along
Wait along, wait along
(Wait along, wait along, wait along, wait along)
The lyrics of Henry Mancini's High Noon tell the story of a man who is about to face his enemy in a duel. The song opens with a plea to his "darling" not to leave him on their wedding day. He acknowledges his uncertainty about his future fate, but admits that he must be brave and confront the person who hates him. He reflects upon the love he has for his fair-haired beauty and the difficulty of having to choose between love and duty. As the clock ticks closer to noon, he becomes increasingly anxious and wonders what he will do if his lover leaves him. He reminds her of the promise she made to him on their wedding day and begs her not to abandon him in his time of need.
The song High Noon is from the soundtrack of the 1952 film "High Noon," which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The song, sung by Tex Ritter, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.
Line by Line Meaning
Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'
Don't abandon me, my love
On this, our weddin' day
Today, our wedding day
Wait, wait along
Wait with me
I do not know what fate awaits me
I don't know what will happen to me
I only know I must be brave
I only know I have to be brave
And I must face a man who hates me
And I have to confront someone who hates me
Or lie a coward, a craven coward
Or be a coward, a fearful coward
Or lie a coward in my grave
Or be a coward and die
Oh, to be torn 'twixt love and duty
Oh, to be divided between love and duty
S'posin' I lose my fair-haired beauty
Suppose I lose my lovely partner
Look at that big hand move along
Watch the big hand move closer
Nearin' high noon
Almost noon
He made a vow while in state prison
He pledged while in prison
Vowed it would be my life or his'n
Swore it would be either my life or his
I'm not afraid of death but oh
I'm not scared of death but oh
What will I do if you leave me?
What will I do if you abandon me?
You made that promise as a bride
You promised as a bride
Although you're grievin', don't think of leavin'
Even though you're grieving, don't consider leaving
Now that I need you by my side
Now that I need you with me
Wait along, (wait along) wait along
Wait with me, wait with me
Wait along, wait along
Wait with me, wait with me
(Wait along, wait along, wait along, wait along)
(Wait with me, wait with me, wait with me, wait with me)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: DIMITRI TIOMKIN, NED WASHINGTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
George B Vieto
Another excellent video.