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.
One Of Us Is Crying
James Last Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were, I felt, robbing me of my rightful chances
My picture clear, everything seemed so easy
And so I dealt you the blow
One of us had to go
Now it's different, I want you to know
One of us is crying
In her lonely bed
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely
One of us is only
Waiting for a call
Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small
Wishing she had never left at all
I saw myself as a concealed attraction
I felt you kept me away from the heat and the action
Just like a child, stubborn and misconceiving
That's how I started the show
One of us had to go
Now I've changed and I want you to know
One of us is crying
One of us is lying
In her lonely bed
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely
One of us is only
Waiting for a call
Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small
Wishing she had never left at all
Never left at all
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely
One of us is only
Waiting for a call
"One of Us Is Crying" is a melancholic song by James Last that talks about a failed relationship and its aftermath. The opening lines of the song are reminiscent of past romances that the singer has encountered. The singer, after having had his heart broken, projects his despair onto the listener. He feels a sense of victimization because he has been deprived of his fair share of love, thinking that he is more deserving of a fulfilling relationship.
He then talks about how he had felt, much like a concealed attraction, kept away from the heat and action of the relationship. He feels like he was a part of a show, where one of them had to leave, and he was the one who delivered the fatal blow. Now he regrets his actions and wants to let the listener know that he has changed.
The chorus of the song talks about the aftermath of the relationship. One of them is crying, while the other is lying alone in bed, staring at the ceiling, and wishing to be somewhere else. One of them is lonely and waiting for a call, feeling stupid and small for leaving. The song is a lament about the choices one makes and the subsequent emotions that come with them.
Line by Line Meaning
They passed me by, all of those great romances
I missed out on all those amazing love stories because of you
You were, I felt, robbing me of my rightful chances
I believed that you were preventing me from finding love
My picture clear, everything seemed so easy
I had a clear vision of how things should be, and it seemed effortless
And so I dealt you the blow
I made the decision to end our relationship
One of us had to go
One of us had to leave in order to move on
Now it's different, I want you to know
Things have changed and I want to make that known to you
One of us is crying
One of us is upset over the breakup
One of us is lying
One of us is not being truthful about their feelings
In her lonely bed
Alone in her bed, feeling isolated
Staring at the ceiling
Looking up at the ceiling, lost in thought
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
Regretting her current situation, she wishes she was somewhere else
One of us is lonely
One of us is feeling isolated and alone
One of us is only
One of us is solely focused on the relationship
Waiting for a call
Hoping for the other person to reach out
Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small
Feeling apologetic and insecure about the situation
Wishing she had never left at all
Regretting the decision to end the relationship
I saw myself as a concealed attraction
I felt like I was hiding my true feelings from you
I felt you kept me away from the heat and the action
I believed that you were keeping me from experiencing exciting and passionate moments
Just like a child, stubborn and misconceiving
I acted childish, refusing to see the situation clearly
That's how I started the show
That was the beginning of the end for us
Never left at all
Wishing that the relationship never ended
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Benny Goran Andersson, Bjoern K. Ulvaeus
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind