Throughout the 1950s and early-1960s, Jackie Gleason enjoyed a secondary mu… Read Full Bio ↴Throughout the 1950s and early-1960s, Jackie Gleason enjoyed a secondary music career, lending his name to a series of best-selling mood music albums with jazz overtones for Capitol. Gleason felt there was a ready market for romantic instrumentals. He recalled seeing Clark Gable play love scenes in movies, and the romance was, in his words, "magnified a thousand percent" by background music. Gleason reasoned, "If Gable needs music, a guy in Brooklyn must be desperate!"

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 Should Lose You
Jackie Gleason Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If I should lose you
The stars would fall from the sky
If I should lose you
The leaves would wither and die

The birds in Maytime
Would sing a mournful refrain
And I would wander around

Hating the sound of rain

With you beside me
The rose would bloom in the snow
With you beside me
No winds of winter would blow

I gave you my love
And I was living a dream

But living would seem in vain
If I lost you

Overall Meaning

The song "If I Should Lose You" by Jackie Gleason is a poignant and melancholic ballad that contemplates the devastating impact of losing someone you love. The lyrics begin with the assertion that if the singer were to lose their significant other, the whole world would deteriorate around them. The imagery of the stars falling from the sky and leaves withering and dying emphasizes the depth of the singer's despair. The lyricist then goes on to suggest that music, typically a source of solace, would only serve as a reminder of the beloved's absence, with the birds singing a "mournful refrain." The picture painted is a desolate one, with nothing but rain and loss to be heard.

However, the mood of the verses shifts with the chorus, and the tone becomes more optimistic. The singer imagines that if their love interest were still by their side, the world would be transformed. Flowers would bloom in unlikely places; even in the snow, and the ravages of winter would not hold sway. The bridge of the song reveals that the singer feels that their life has been a dream brought to life by their love interest, and that without them, any joy they had would be meaningless.

Overall, "If I Should Lose You" is a powerful meditation on the importance of those we hold dear and the depths of despondency that losing them can create. However, it is also a reminder of the transformative power of love and how it can make the world a brighter, more beautiful place.

Line by Line Meaning

If I should lose you
Life would be meaningless without you

The stars would fall from the sky
The world would lose its shine and beauty

If I should lose you
The thought of losing you is unbearable

The leaves would wither and die
The world would lose its colors and vibrancy

The birds in Maytime
Even the most joyous things in life would become sorrowful

Would sing a mournful refrain
Everything would remind me of the loss and sorrow

And I would wander around
I would be lost without you

Hating the sound of rain
Even the soothing sounds of nature would be painful

With you beside me
You bring joy and hope to my life

The rose would bloom in the snow
With you, even the impossible becomes possible

No winds of winter would blow
You are my shelter from the storm