James Columbus (Jay or Hootie) McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006… Read Full Bio ↴James Columbus (Jay or Hootie) McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American blues and swing pianist, bandleader, and singer.

McShann was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and began working as a professional musician in 1931, performing around Tulsa, Oklahoma and neighboring Arkansas. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1936, and set up his own big band, which featured Charlie Parker (from 1937 to 1942), Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster and Walter Brown. Although its book included both swing and blues numbers, the band played blues on most of its records; its most popular recording was "Confessin' the Blues." The group disbanded when McShann was drafted into the Army in 1944, and he was unable to successfully restart it when he got out.

After the war McShann began to lead small groups featuring blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon. Witherspoon started recording with McShann in 1945, and fronting McShann's band, had a hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business." McShann then played in obscurity until 1969, when he became popular as a singer as well as a pianist, often performing with Claude Williams. He continued recording and touring through the 1990s. Well into his 80s McShann still performed occasionally, particularly in the Kansas City area and Toronto Ontario.

Crime-fiction writer Elmore Leonard featured McShann as a character in his 2005 novel, The Hot Kid.

On December 7, 2006, McShann died at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City.

The Shadow of Your Smile
Jay McShann Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The shadow of your smile
When you have gone
Will color all my dreams
And light the dawn

Look into my eyes my love and see
All the lovely things you are to me

Our wistful little star
It was far, too high
A teardrop kissed your lips
And so did I

Now when I remember spring
All the joys that love can bring

I will be remembering
The shadow of your smile

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jay McShann's The Shadow of Your Smile talks about the lingering memory of a loved one after they have departed. The phrase "The shadow of your smile" is used as a metaphor to describe the remnants of the loved one's smile that remains in the mind of the singer after they have gone. The singer talks about how this memory will color all their dreams and light the dawn, possibly indicating that this memory will serve as a source of inspiration and hope for them even after the loved one has left.

In the second stanza, the singer addresses their love directly, urging them to look into their eyes and see all the lovely things they mean to them. The third stanza describes a moment shared between the singer and their love, where they reached for a star that was too far and shed a tear. The final stanza talks about how the memory of this love will remain with the singer even after springtime has passed and all the joys of love have faded away.

Overall, The Shadow of Your Smile is a sentimental song that captures the poignancy of remembering a lost love. It acknowledges the bittersweet nature of memory and how it can bring joy and pain in equal measure.

Line by Line Meaning

The shadow of your smile
The memory of your beautiful smile

When you have gone
After you have left my side

Will color all my dreams
Will affect my subconscious thoughts

And light the dawn
And imbibe positivity in my life

Look into my eyes my love and see
Gaze into my eyes and understand my adoration

All the lovely things you are to me
All the beautiful qualities you possess that make me cherish you

Our wistful little star
Our melancholic, sentimental moments

It was far, too high
We aimed for lofty goals that were difficult to achieve

A teardrop kissed your lips
You shed a tear, showing your vulnerability

And so did I
I also cried in sympathy

Now when I remember spring
Whenever I reminisce about past happiness