The Very Thought Of You
Johnny Hodges;Cat Anderson;Lawrence Brown;Jimmy Hamilton;Jimmy Jones;Bill Berry;Les Spann;Aaron Bell Lyrics
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That out of sight is out of mind
Maybe that's so but I tried to go
And leave you behind, what did I find
I took a trip on the train
And I thought about you,
I passed a shadowy lane
Two or three cars parked under the stars
A winding stream
Moon shining down on some little town
And with each beam, same old dream
At every stop that we made
Oh, I thought about you
But when I pulled down the shade
Then I really felt blue,
I peeked through the crack
And looked at the track
The one going back to you
And what did I do
I thought about you
The Very Thought of You is a romantic jazz standard that tells the story of someone who tries to forget about an old flame but fails miserably when they take a trip on a train. The first verse sets the context by acknowledging the old saying that "out of sight is out of mind". However, the singer soon realizes that this is not entirely true when they attempt to leave their past lover behind and find themselves constantly thinking about them throughout the journey. The second verse reinforces this idea of not being able to escape one's memories by describing the various scenes they encounter, such as a shadowy lane, parked cars under the stars, a winding stream, and moonlight shining down on a little town. Each of these sights triggers the same old dream of being with their beloved once again.
The chorus of the song builds up to a crescendo of emotions, with the singer confessing that despite trying to forget, they end up thinking about their old flame at every stop along the way. The final verse brings the story to a poignant conclusion by describing how the singer feels when the train journey is finally over. They pull down the shade, peek through the crack and see the track heading back to their loved one. The song ends with the haunting repetition of the line "I thought about you", which captures the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia that the singer experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Seems that I read, or somebody said
It appears that I either read or heard from someone
That out of sight is out of mind
That if something or someone is not seen, it's often not remembered or thought about
Maybe that's so but I tried to go
Perhaps that is true but I attempted to depart
And leave you behind, what did I find
And abandon you, what did I discover
I took a trip on the train
I went on a journey by train
And I thought about you,
And I reflected on you,
I passed a shadowy lane
I went by a darkened path
And I thought about you,
And I pondered on you
Two or three cars parked under the stars
A couple of vehicles parked beneath the night sky
A winding stream
A curvy body of water
Moon shining down on some little town
The moon's light illuminating a small town
And with each beam, same old dream
And with every ray of light, the same recurring vision
At every stop that we made
At every pause that we took during the train journey
Oh, I thought about you
Oh, I contemplated on you
But when I pulled down the shade
Yet when I lowered the window covering
Then I really felt blue,
It was then that I really became sad,
I peeked through the crack
I glanced through the crevice
And looked at the track
And looked at the railroad path
The one going back to you
The one leading back to you
And what did I do
And what did I proceed to do
I thought about you
I thought about you
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: JAMES VAN HEUSEN, JIMMY VAN HEUSEN, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind