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.
Nothing To Lose
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If we are wise
We're not expecting rainbow-colored skies
Not right away
Nothing to lose
It might be fun
No talk of spending lifetimes in the sun
Both you and I have seen what time can do
We'll only hurt ourselves if we build dreams that don't come true
What can we lose
We know the score
Let's wait before we talk of evermore
One day we may
Nothing to lose
But much to gain if love decides to stay
[repeat the last three sections]
Nothing to lose
The song 'Nothing to Lose' by Henry Mancini is a love song that speaks about two people who are willing to take a chance and fall in love, despite being aware of the challenges and hurdles ahead. The upbeat tempo and the jazzy melody of the song perfectly complement the lyrics, which convey a message of hope and resilience. The first verse of the song talks about the need for wisdom in approaching a new relationship. The two lovers are aware that they cannot expect an easy road with no difficulties. They acknowledge that there will be times of sorrow and pain, but they are hopeful that love will see them through.
The second verse speaks of the need for patience and gradual transition. The two lovers are not in a hurry to spend all their time in each other's company. They want to take things slowly and wait for the right time to make a commitment. After all, they have both experienced the passing of time and the disappointment of unfulfilled dreams. They do not want to build castles in the air, only to have them come crashing down later. The final verse expresses the idea that even if they do not end up together, they will still have gained something precious – the experience of loving deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing to lose
We have no risks to take.
If we are wise
We should be reasonable and cautious.
We're not expecting rainbow-colored skies
We are not looking for unrealistic outcomes or dreaming big.
Not right away
We don't need or expect immediate results.
Nothing to lose
We still have no risks to take.
It might be fun
It is still worth trying, even if it's just for the sake of experiencing something new.
No talk of spending lifetimes in the sun
We don't need to make unrealistic commitments.
Although we may
We still have the option to do so, but it's not necessary.
Both you and I have seen what time can do
We understand the consequences of being too hopeful and optimistic.
We'll only hurt ourselves if we build dreams that don't come true
We will only cause ourselves pain and disappointment if we indulge in unrealistic expectations.
What can we lose
We still don't have much at stake.
We know the score
We understand what's happening and there are no surprises.
Let's wait before we talk of evermore
We should take things one step at a time, without rushing to make any big commitments.
One day we may
Future possibilities still exist.
Nothing to lose
We are still in the same situation, with nothing at stake.
But much to gain if love decides to stay
We still have the potential to benefit a lot, as long as our expectations remain realistic and we don't commit too much too quickly.
[repeat the last three sections]
The same message is repeated to emphasize it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Don Black, Henry Mancini
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind