James Last (Hans Last, * April 17, 1929 in Bremen, † June, 9, 2015 in Flori… Read Full Bio ↴James Last (Hans Last, * April 17, 1929 in Bremen, † June, 9, 2015 in Florida) was a German composer and big band leader with a large fan base in Europe and world-wide. Last's trademark was arranging pop hits in a big-band style; his series of "party albums" is equally well-known. Over the course of his career, he has sold well over 100 million albums.

Last learned how to play piano as child, switching to bass as a teenager. He joined Hans-Gunther Oesterreich's Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra in 1946, when he was 17 years old. In 1948, he became the leader of the Becker-Last Ensemble, which performed for seven years. During that time, he was voted as the best bassist in the country by a German jazz poll for three consecutive years, from 1950-1952. After the disbandment of the Becker-Last Ensemble, he became the in-house arranger for Polydor Records, as well as for a number of European radio stations. For the next decade, he helped arrange hits for artists like Helmut Zacharias and Caterina Valente.

Last released his first album "Non-Stop Dancing" in 1965. The record of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and joyous crowd noises. It was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next four decades, Last has released over 190 records, including several more volumes of Non-Stop Dancing. On these records, he varies his formula by adding different songs from different countries and genres, as well as guest performers like Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.

Though his concerts and albums are consistently successful — especially in England, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967-1986, which made him second to Elvis Presley in terms of number of charting records — he has only had two hit singles with "The Seduction," the theme from American Gigolo (1980) and Biscaya from the album "Biscaya".

He has won numerous polls and prizes, for example Billboard magazine's "Star of the year" trophy in 1976, and has been honored for his lifework with the German ECHO prize in 1994.

The song "The Lonely Shepherd", written by Last and performed by Gheorghe Zamfir and the James Last Orchestra, was featured in the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003).

Personally, he divides his time between Florida and Germany. He gives much credit to his wife and son, who helps with the music.

Kiss Me Honey Honey
James Last Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I still remember the look on your face
Lit through the darkness at 1: 58
The words that you whispered
For just us to know
You told me you loved me
So why did you go away?
Away

I do recall now the smell of the rain
Fresh on the pavement
I ran off the plane
That July 9th
The beat of your heart
It jumps through your shirt
I can still feel your arms

But now I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is
I don't know how to be something you miss
I never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

I do remember the swing of your step
The life of the party, you're showing off again
And I roll my eyes and then
You pull me in
I'm not much for dancing
But for you I did

Because I love your handshake, meeting my father
I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets
How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something
There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions

And I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe
And I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are
Hope it's nice where you are

And I hope the sun shines
And it's a beautiful day
And something reminds you
You wish you had stayed
You can plan for a change in weather and time
But I never planned on you changing your mind

So I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

Just like our last kiss

Forever the name on my lips
Forever the name on my lips

Overall Meaning

The song Kiss Me Honey Honey by James Last is a nostalgic ballad about a past relationship that ended unexpectedly. The lyrics are filled with vivid memories of a love that once felt perfect but ultimately fell apart. The first verse highlights the painful confusion felt after a breakup, with the singer asking why their lover left even though they had declared their love. The second verse recalls a particular moment in time, July 9th, when the singer was overwhelmed by the intensity of their partner's affection. The chorus repeats the refrain "All that I know is I don't know how to be something you miss," a sentiment that perfectly encapsulates the heartache caused by the sudden end of a relationship.

The third and final verse is tinged with resignation as the singer comes to terms with the fact that their lover has moved on. They describe themselves watching their ex-partner living their life in pictures and feeling forgotten, just as they once felt compelled to watch them sleep. The final lines of the song feature the mournful repetition of the phrase "Forever the name on my lips," emphasizing the lingering pain and longing caused by the end of the relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

I still remember the look on your face
I can still vividly recall the expression you had on your face at that moment.

Lit through the darkness at 1: 58
It was 1:58 am and you looked like a beacon of light in the darkness to me

The words that you whispered
Those soft-spoken words that you shared with me, just between us two

For just us to know
For our ears only, to keep as a secret between us

You told me you loved me
You confessed your love to me

So why did you go away?
Why did you leave me then?

Away
Far from me, you went away

I do recall now the smell of the rain
I remember distinctly the fresh smell of rain on that day

Fresh on the pavement
Droplets of water glistening on the surface of the pavement

I ran off the plane
I rushed out of the plane as soon as I could

That July 9th
It was July 9th, that day

The beat of your heart
I felt the rhythm of your heartbeat

It jumps through your shirt
Excitedly, your heart seemed to be beating out of your chest

I can still feel your arms
I can still feel your warm embrace

But now I'll go sit on the floor
Now all I want to do is sit on the floor

Wearing your clothes
And wear your clothes

All that I know is
All I know is

I don't know how to be something you miss
I can't help but feel like I'm not worth missing now that you're gone

I never thought we'd have a last kiss
I never imagined that our kiss would be our last

Never imagined we'd end like this
I never thought we'd end things this way

Your name, forever the name on my lips
I can't stop calling out your name, it's forever on my lips

I do remember the swing of your step
I still remember how you walked, with that easy, confident rhythm of yours

The life of the party, you're showing off again
You were always the center of attention, showing off as usual

And I roll my eyes and then
And I can't help but roll my eyes at your antics

You pull me in
But then you draw me in with your charm

I'm not much for dancing
Normally I'm not a fan of dancing

But for you I did
But with you, I danced away with ease

Because I love your handshake, meeting my father
I loved the way you shook my father's hand, the respect you showed him

I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets
I loved how you walked with your hands stuffed inside your pockets

How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something
I loved how you kissed me in the middle of my talking

There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions
I miss your impromptu kisses that interrupted my talking

So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
Now, I look at your pictures to see how you're doing, in the same way I used to watch you sleep

And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe
Just as I could feel your breathing, now I sense you've forgotten about me

And I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are
I keep tabs on our mutual friends to find out how you're doing

Hope it's nice where you are
I hope you're doing well, wherever you are

And I hope the sun shines
I wish for good weather

And it's a beautiful day
I hope it's a great day for you

And something reminds you
I hope you're reminded of me by something special

You wish you had stayed
I hope you wish you hadn't left me

You can plan for a change in weather and time
You can plan for any change, be it seasonal shifts or the passing of time

But I never planned on you changing your mind
But I never guessed or planned that you would stop loving me, and move on

Just like our last kiss
Just like our final kiss

Forever the name on my lips
You're forever the name on my lips

Contributed by Christian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.