Born in Los Angeles, California, Alpert began trumpet lessons at about the … Read Full Bio ↴Born in Los Angeles, California, Alpert began trumpet lessons at about the age of eight and played at dances as a teenager. Acquiring an early wire recorder in high school, he experimented with recording on this crude equipment. After graduating from Fairfax High School in 1952, he joined the U.S. Army and frequently performed at military ceremonies. After his service in the Army, Alpert tried his hand at acting, but eventually settled on pursuing a career in music. While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years. He graduated with a BM in 1954.

In 1957, Alpert teamed up with Lou Adler, another burgeoning lyricist, as a songwriter for Keen Records. A number of songs written or co-written by Alpert during the following two years became top twenty hits, including "Baby Talk" by Jan and Dean, "Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke, and "Alley-Oop" by The Hollywood Argyles and by Dante and The Evergreens. In 1960, Alpert began his recording career as a vocalist at RCA Records under the name of Dore Alpert, where he recorded early vocals.

"Tell It To The Birds" was recorded as the first release on the Alpert & Moss label, Carnival Records. When Herb & Jerry found that there was prior usage of the Carnival name, their label became A&M Records.

More information on the band can be found at: http://www.tijuanabrass.com/herb-alpert-faq/

Tangerine
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tangerine, she is all they claim
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
Tangerine, when she dances by
Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh

And I've seen toasts to Tangerine
Raised in every bar across the Argentine
Yes, she has them all on the run

But her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine

Tangerine, she is all they say
With mascaraed eye and chapeaux by Dache
Tangerine, with her lips of flame
If the color keeps, Louis Philippe's to blame

And I've seen clothes on Tangerine
Where the label says 'From Macy's Mezzanine'
Yes, she's got the guys in a whirl

But she's only fooling one girl
She's only fooling Tangerine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass's song Tangerine are about a woman who is very alluring, with eyes of night and lips as bright as a flame. The song describes how when Tangerine dances, everyone is captivated by her beauty, even the Senoritas and caballeros. The singer has even witnessed people raising toasts to Tangerine in every bar across the Argentine. Despite having all these people fawning over her, Tangerine's heart belongs to just one person, herself.

The second verse of the song continues to describe Tangerine's beauty, mentioning her mascaraed eyes and designer hats. The singer has even seen clothing that Tangerine wears with a tag that says "From Macy's Mezzanine," suggesting that despite her beauty and allure, Tangerine is still grounded in reality. Although Tangerine may have many men interested in her, she's really only fooling herself, pretending like she's captivating all of them when really her beauty belongs only to her.

Overall, the song is quite romantic yet bittersweet. While Tangerine is captivating, she's also a bit of a fictional character, with unrealistic beauty standards that people are chasing after. This can also be seen as a commentary on the unattainable standards that society sets for women in terms of beauty, as well as the danger of becoming obsessed with one's own appearance.

Line by Line Meaning

Tangerine, she is all they claim
Tangerine is everything people say about her.

With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
Tangerine has dark eyes and bright, fiery lips.

Tangerine, when she dances by
People can't help but stare at Tangerine when she dances.

Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh
Both men and women are mesmerized by Tangerine's beauty.

And I've seen toasts to Tangerine
People raise their glasses to Tangerine in every bar in Argentina.

Raised in every bar across the Argentine
Tangerine is so popular that even the bars in Argentina have toasts in her honor.

Yes, she has them all on the run
Everyone is chasing after Tangerine.

But her heart belongs to just one
Despite all the attention, Tangerine is loyal to one person.

Her heart belongs to Tangerine
Tangerine loves herself above anyone else.

Tangerine, she is all they say
People are not exaggerating when they talk about how amazing Tangerine is.

With mascaraed eye and chapeaux by Dache
Tangerine wears makeup and high-end hats from designer Dache.

If the color keeps, Louis Philippe's to blame
If Tangerine's lipstick stays on, then it's because of the quality of the Louis Philippe brand lipsticks.

And I've seen clothes on Tangerine
Tangerine wears fashionable clothes.

Where the label says 'From Macy's Mezzanine'
Tangerine buys her clothes from the Macy's Mezzanine department.

Yes, she's got the guys in a whirl
Tangerine has all the men captivated by her.

But she's only fooling one girl
Despite all the attention from men, Tangerine is only trying to impress herself.

She's only fooling Tangerine
Tangerine only cares about her own opinion of herself.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, VICTOR SCHERTZINGER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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