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

Paddlin' Madelin Home
Jackie Gleason Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I love a girl named Madeline
I know she loves me, too
For ev'ry night the moon is bright
She rides in my canoe

At midnight on the river
I heard her father call,
But she don't care and I don't care

If we get back at all

'Cause when I'm paddlin' Madeline home
Gee! When I'm paddlin' Madeline home
First I drift with the tide,
Then pull for the shore
I hug her and kiss her
And paddle some more

Then I keep paddlin' Madeline home
Until I find a spot where we're alone
Oh! She never says "No"
So I kiss her and go
Paddlin' Madeline
Sweet sweet Madeline
Paddlin' Madeline home

'Cause when I'm paddlin' Madeline home
Gee! When I'm paddlin' Madeline home
First I kiss her a while
And when I get through
I paddle for one mile
And drift back for two

Then I keep paddlin' Madeline home
Until I find a spot where we're alone
Oh! If she'd only say "Throw your paddles away"
Paddlin' Madeline

Sweet sweet Madeline
Paddlin' Madeline home

Overall Meaning

The song "Home in Pasadena" by Jackie Gleason is a lighthearted tune about young love and adventure. The singer is in love with a girl named Madeline, and he knows she feels the same way. They go on midnight rides on a river in a canoe, with the moon as their guide. Despite her father calling out for her, Madeline doesn't care about the danger they might face, and neither does the singer. They just want to be together.

The song's main theme is paddling Madeline home, and the singer describes the different stages of their journey. They drift with the tide, hug, and kiss. While he paddles for miles and miles, she never says "no" to his advances. The singer wishes she would ask him to stop paddling and just be with her, but for now, he's happy to paddle Madeline home.

Overall, the song is a fun and playful ode to a young love's adventurous spirit. It captures the joy and excitement of being with someone you care about and living in the moment.

Line by Line Meaning

I love a girl named Madeline
I am deeply in love with a girl named Madeline.

I know she loves me, too
I believe that Madeline loves me as much as I love her.

For ev'ry night the moon is bright She rides in my canoe
We take rides in my canoe every moonlit night.

At midnight on the river I heard her father call, But she don't care and I don't care If we get back at all
Once, while we were on the river, Madeline's father called out for her at midnight. However, we did not care if we weren't able to make it back home because we were so in love.

'Cause when I'm paddlin' Madeline home Gee! When I'm paddlin' Madeline home
Whenever I am taking Madeline home in my canoe,

First I drift with the tide, Then pull for the shore I hug her and kiss her And paddle some more
I first let the canoe drift with the tide, then paddle it towards the shore while hugging and kissing her. Once we reach the shore, I continue to paddle her home.

Then I keep paddlin' Madeline home Until I find a spot where we're alone Oh! She never says "No" So I kiss her and go Paddlin' Madeline Sweet sweet Madeline Paddlin' Madeline home
I keep paddling Madeline home until we find a spot where we can be alone. Madeline never says no to my advances, so I kiss her and keep paddling her towards her house while thinking about how sweet she is.

First I kiss her a while And when I get through I paddle for one mile And drift back for two
I first kiss her for a while, and once I'm done, I paddle for a mile and drift back for two.

Until I find a spot where we're alone Oh! If she'd only say "Throw your paddles away" Paddlin' Madeline Sweet sweet Madeline Paddlin' Madeline home
I continue paddling Madeline home until I find the perfect spot where we can be alone. If only Madeline would suggest that we stop paddling and spend more time together, but for now, I constantly find myself taking her home while reminiscing about how sweet she is.

Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY M. WOODS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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