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
If I Could Be With You
Jackie Gleason Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All day through, I seem to say to you,
I did wrong when I let you go away,
'Cause now I dream about you night and day,
I'm so unhappy and dissatisfied
I'll be happy if I had you by my side,
If I could be with you one lil' hour tonight,
I want you to know you wouldn't go,
Until I told you that I loved you so.
If I could be with you I'd love you long,
If I could be with you I'd love you strong,
And I'm telling you for true, you'd be anything but blue,
If I could be with you
The lyrics of Jackie Gleason's "If I Could Be With You" portray a sense of longing and regret for a lost love. The singer expresses deep sadness at the fact that they let their love slip away and now can't seem to get over it. They dream about their lost love every night and are so unhappy that they would do anything to have them back by their side.
The singer wants to spend just one hour with their lost love, to show them all the little things they would do if given the opportunity. They want to express their love, tell them how much they mean to them, and make up for past mistakes. The singer believes that if they were given this chance, they would love their lost love deeply and strongly. They promise that their love would never feel blue or unhappy again if they were to be reunited.
Overall, the lyrics of "If I Could Be With You" convey a sense of yearning for lost love and the desire to make things right. The singer wants nothing more than to have their love back in their life and to show them how much they mean to them.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm so blue, I don't know what to do,
I am feeling extremely sad and lost.
All day through, I seem to say to you,
I keep thinking about you throughout the day.
I did wrong when I let you go away,
My mistake was letting you go.
'Cause now I dream about you night and day,
I constantly dream about you, which makes me even more regretful of losing you.
I'm so unhappy and dissatisfied
I am extremely unhappy and unfulfilled.
I'll be happy if I had you by my side,
Having you by my side would bring me happiness.
If I could be with you one lil' hour tonight,
If I had just one hour with you tonight,
And free to do all those little things I might,
And if I could do all the things I might want to do with you during that hour.
I want you to know you wouldn't go,
I want you to know that you wouldn't want to leave.
Until I told you that I loved you so.
Until I expressed my love for you.
If I could be with you I'd love you long,
If I could be with you, I'd love you for a long time.
If I could be with you I'd love you strong,
If I could be with you, I'd love you with great intensity.
And I'm telling you for true, you'd be anything but blue,
And I'm telling you that you wouldn't be sad anymore.
If I could be with you
If only I could be with you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HENRY CREAMER, JAMES P JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@paulpeterson4320
Very very very clever.
Woody has such great taste in music.
@gm9984
Does Woodey Allen hand gestures
@PrideWonder
I WANT TO LIVE IN THIS SONG, FOREVER...
@andreacannizzo9641
can we be friends plz? ;-)
@ArturoGarcia-zk8pg
I share that same wish. After seeing Woody Allen's Whatever Works, I can't erase this music from my mind.
@heartpursuer
Bittersweet memories from my college days when I loved and lost. Sweet and sad. Lovely and lonely.
@gm9984
I'm there now. With the same song.. Cheers brethren
@heartpursuer
@@gm9984 Here I am ten years later. At 81, the feelings remain undiminished. Bobby Hackett LPs were an essential ingredient for our house parties at Lafayette. It's where I fell in love for the first time.
@foxteng27
There is some kind of otherworldly feeling, supernatural quiet night!
@gm9984
The movie 'Whatever Works' brought me here. Gackie Gleason is why I'm staying