Gleason could not read or write music in a conventional sense; he was said to have conceived melodies in his head and described them vocally to staff help. He did likewise with the well-remembered themes of both The Jackie Gleason Show ("Melancholy Serenade") and The Honeymooners ("You're My Greatest Love"). There has been some controversy over the years as to how much credit Gleason should have received for the finished products; it has been written that beyond the possible conceptualizing of many of the songs, Gleason had no direct involvement such as conducting in the making of these recordings. However, his main musical companion, cornetist and trumpeter Bobby Hackett once said: "Jackie knows a lot more about music than people give him credit for. I have seen him conduct a sixty-piece orchestra and detect one discordant note in the brass section. He would immediately stop the music and locate the wrong note. It always amazed the professional musicians how a guy who technically did not know one note from another could do that. And he was never wrong."
Born February 26, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He died on June 24, 1987
Days of Wine and Roses
Jackie Gleason Lyrics
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Through a meadow land toward a closing door
A door marked "nevermore" that wasn't there before
The lonely night discloses just a passing breeze filled with memories
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
The days of wine and roses and you
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
The days of wine and roses and you-oo-oo
The lyrics to this song are filled with imagery of happiness, playfulness, and love, but also a sense of loss and nostalgia. The metaphor of the "days of wine and roses" serves to represent the happy times in life that pass quickly and are easily forgotten, but remain in memory as moments of joy and beauty. The line "laugh and run away like a child at play / Through a meadow land toward a closing door" suggests the fleeting nature of these happy moments, while the line "A door marked 'nevermore' that wasn't there before" implies that once they have passed, they cannot be retrieved or regained.
The second verse then introduces a sense of sadness and longing, as the singer reflects on the person who introduced them to these happy times - "The golden smile that introduced me to / The days of wine and roses and you." The passing breeze serves as a symbol of the passing of time and memories that are carried away, but also of the possibility of future happiness that may be waiting just beyond the horizon. Overall, the song serves as a poignant reminder of the beauty and fragility of life and love.
Line by Line Meaning
The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play
Happy times always seem to end too soon and pass quickly
Through a meadow land toward a closing door
Life's journey leads inevitably towards the end, where everything closes
A door marked "nevermore" that wasn't there before
Death and finality cannot be avoided, and one must eventually face it
(The lonely night discloses) just a passing breeze filled with memories
When left alone at night, memories come back and remind us of what we've lost
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
Memories of past happiness, represented by a smile, linger even when that happiness has ended
The days of wine and roses and you
The happy times spent with someone special are often the ones that we remember most fondly
Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HENRY N. MANCINI, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind