Durante was born in New York City, the third of four children born to Mitch Durante (1855 –1929) and Margaret Durante (1858–1936). A product of working-class New York, Durante dropped out of school in the eighth grade to become a full-time ragtime pianist, working the city circuit and earning the nickname "Ragtime Jimmy," before he joined one of the first recognizable jazz bands in New York, the Original New Orleans Jazz Band. Durante was the only member of the group who didn't hail from New Orleans. His routine of breaking into a song to deliver a joke, with band or orchestra chord punctuation after each line became a Durante trademark. In 1920, the group was renamed Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band.
Durante became a vaudeville star and radio attraction by the mid-1920s, with a music and comedy trio called Clayton, Jackson and Durante. (Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson, probably Durante's closest friends, often reunited with Durante professionally.) By 1934, he had a major record hit, his own novelty composition "Inka Dinka Doo," and it became his signature song for practically the rest of his life. A year later, Durante starred in the Billy Rose stage musical, Jumbo, in which a police officer stopped him while leading a live elephant and asked him, "What are you doing with that elephant?" Durante's reply, "What elephant?", was a regular show-stopper.
He began appearing in motion pictures at about the same time, beginning with a comedy series pairing him with silent film legend Buster Keaton and continuing with such offerings as The Wet Parade (1932), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942, playing Banjo, a character based on Harpo Marx), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962, based on the 1935 musical) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).
Hello Young Lovers
Jimmy Durante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby how long
Have that ev'nin train been gone
Baby, how long, how long, baby how long
Hear it was so
Can't see no train
But deep in my heart I feel and achin' pain
Into the station
Look up at the board
Next train around
Strawberry Road
How long, how, woo, baby how long
'Make it wail ev'rybody'
'Yeah, so sweet'
Down atta station
With my head hung down
Lookin' at my sugar, when she leave this town
Baby, how long, how long, baby how long
I ain't got no money
Buy a ticket on a train
But I'll ride de blinds, baby
Be back home, again
Well, how long, how long, baby how long
See me comin'
Gon get some plow work
I'll cut your liver
Plug your heartache
Been so long, woo swoo, baby how long
'Sonny, wail about it'
Feelin' bad, I'm lookin' sad
Thinkin' bout the bad luck, Sonny
I once have had
But how long, how long, honey how long
See the green grass, growin' on a hill
Never seen no green grass on a dollar bill
How long, how long, baby how long
Lower you, baby
To a hollow tree
Way you treat me
Come back to you
Hoo, low, hoo, woo, baby gone
'Make it wail ev'rybody, now'
Feel so disgusted, I feel so blue
Sometimes Sonny, I don't know
What in the world I'm gonna do
Now, how long, how long, yeah how long
See that little house, sitting on the hill
You don't love me, goin try another who will
How long, how long baby, how long
See my baby, tell her I'll be runnin' home
I've been worried, ever since she been gone
How long, how, woo, baby how long
'Love to see ya'
'Play for me, now'
The opening lines of the song "Hello Young Lovers" by Jimmy Durante expresses a sense of longing and nostalgia. The mention of the evening train that has already left the station is a metaphor for a romantic relationship that has ended. The singer is asking, "Baby, how long? How long has it been since you're gone?" The use of repetition in these lines emphasizes the depth of his emotions and yearning towards the loved one. He can't see the train physically, but he feels the pain of separation in his heart.
As the song progresses, we see the singer's desperate attempts to reconnect with his lover. He looks up at the board in the train station in the hope of finding out when the next train arrives; he pledges to return home by hopping on a train without a ticket, and he considers doing manual labor like plowing and cutting trees just to win her back.
The final line of the song, "See my baby, tell her I'll be running home" demonstrates that even after all of the attempts, the singer's love for his partner still prevails. He is still willing to go to great lengths to be with his beloved.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby, how long
Asking how much time has passed since the evening train left
Hear it was so
I can't see the train, but I feel the pain of its absence
Into the station
Looking at the board to see the next train
Next train around
Going to Strawberry Road
Down atta station
Feeling sad and looking down
I ain't got no money
Can't afford a train ticket
Buy a ticket on a train
Will ride the train illegally
See me comin'
Will find work on a farm
Feelin' bad, I'm lookin' sad
Reflecting on past misfortune
See the green grass, growin' on a hill
Noticing nature's beauty
Lower you, baby
Bringing down the soul
Feel so disgusted, I feel so blue
Feeling down and hopeless
See that little house, sitting on the hill
If you don't love me, I'll find someone who will
See my baby, tell her I'll be runnin' home
Going home to see loved ones
Contributed by Caleb A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@carlrennhack8824
The 3 who gave this song a "thumbs down" are more to be pitied than scolded!
@maryjomckinney4648
Always loved Jimmy Durante. He has a way of his own with a song.
@MiaHessMusic
Most unique voice ever!
@measercatile1313
I like it
@frannycardillo2396
The guy sings dam pretty.
@boonestead4812
he may not be mathis or what not but theres feeling in this entertaining its what its supposed to be my friend made me a cassette of him years ago and ive liked him ever since waaaaaay before my time but .........