A Cottage for Sale
Julie London Lyrics
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is lonely and silent, the shades are all drawn,
and my heart is heavy as I gaze upon
A cottage for sale
The lawn we were proud of is waving in hay,
Our beautiful garden has withered away,
Where you planted roses,the weeds seem to say,
A cottage for sale.
From every single window, I see your face,
But when I reach a window, there's empty space.
The key's in the mail box the same as before,
But no one is waiting any more,
The end of the story is told on the door.
A cottage for sale.
Julie London's song "A Cottage for Sale" is a melancholic ballad that narrates the sorrowful story of a couple who once lived in a dream castle that is now a lonely and silent cottage put up for sale. The lyrics depict the unfathomable sadness of a love that has ended, leaving behind abandoned dreams and withered gardens. The once beautiful home has now become the epitome of desolation, with shades drawn and every dream lost. The narrator's heart is heavy as she gazes upon the deserted abode that was once a symbol of their love and happiness.
The haunting melody and somber lyrics of "A Cottage for Sale" convey a sense of heartbreak and loss. The narrator laments the loss of their cherished memories and the place that was once their haven. From every window, she sees his face, but when she reaches a window, there's just an empty space. The key to the mailbox is the same as before, but no one is waiting anymore. The end of the story is told on the door – a cottage for sale. The lyrics capture the bittersweet feelings of loss, sadness, and longing for a love that has ended.
Line by Line Meaning
Our little dream castle with every dream gone,
Our home, once a place of hope and possibility, is now empty and void of any dreams or aspirations.
is lonely and silent, the shades are all drawn,
No one is around and the house is dark, secluded, and void of any life or energy.
and my heart is heavy as I gaze upon
As I look at the empty and lifeless house, I feel a great sadness and weight in my heart.
A cottage for sale
The house that was once a home is now being sold, as it no longer holds any value or meaning to us.
The lawn we were proud of is waving in hay,
The lawn that we once maintained with pride has been left unattended, now full of weeds and overgrown with hay.
Our beautiful garden has withered away,
The garden that we once tended to and nurtured is now dried up and gone, with no hope of revival.
Where you planted roses,the weeds seem to say,
The very spot where you once planted roses has now been overtaken by weeds, signifying the end of any hope or growth.
A cottage for sale.
The once-beautiful cottage is now up for sale, as a symbol of the end of our former life and the start of a new chapter.
From every single window, I see your face,
In every window of the house, I see you and the memories we shared together.
But when I reach a window, there's empty space.
However, when I approach the window, there is only emptiness and a reminder that you are no longer here with me.
The key's in the mail box the same as before,
The key to the house is still in the mailbox, where we always kept it as a symbol of our home and security.
But no one is waiting any more,
But now, there is no one waiting for us inside the house, as our connection to it and each other has been lost.
The end of the story is told on the door.
The end of our story is now marked by the sale of the house, as we leave behind all of our memories and the love that once filled the walls.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Larry Conley, Willard Robinson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
London's 35-year acting career began in films in 1944 and included playing opposite Gary Cooper in Man of the West (1958) and Robert Mitchum in The Wonderful Country (1959). Read Full BioJulie London (née Peck; September 26,1926 — October 18, 2000) was an American jazz and pop singer and actress. She was noted for her smoky, sensual voice and languid demeanor. She released 32 albums of pop and jazz standards during the 1950s and 1960s, with her signature song being the classic "Cry Me a River," which she introduced in 1955.
London's 35-year acting career began in films in 1944 and included playing opposite Gary Cooper in Man of the West (1958) and Robert Mitchum in The Wonderful Country (1959). She achieved continuing success in the TV medical drama Emergency! (1972–1979), co-starring her real-life husband, Bobby Troup, and produced by her ex-husband, Jack Webb, in which London played the female lead role of nurse Dixie McCall. She and Randolph Mantooth, who played one-half of her medical students, a paramedic, in the series, were very close to her family, until her death in 2000.
Born in Santa Rosa, California, she was the daughter of Jack and Josephine Peck, who were a vaudeville song-and-dance team. When she was fourteen the family moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after that, she began appearing in movies. She graduated from the Hollywood Professional High School in 1945.
London began singing under the name Gayle Peck in public in her teens before appearing in a film. She was discovered by talent agent Sue Carol (wife of actor Alan Ladd), while working as an elevator operator. Her early film career, however, did not include any singing roles.
London recorded 32 albums in a career that began in 1955 with a live performance at the 881 Club in Los Angeles. Billboard named her the most popular female vocalist for 1955, 1956, and 1957. She was the subject of a 1957 Life cover article in which she was quoted as saying, "It's only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of oversmoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate."
London's debut recordings were for the Bethlehem Records label. While shopping for a record deal, she recorded four tracks that would later be included on the compilation album Bethlehem's Girlfriends in 1955. Bobby Troup backed London on the album, for which London recorded the standards "Don't Worry About Me", "Motherless Child", "A Foggy Day", and "You're Blasé".
London's most famous single, "Cry Me a River", was written by her high-school classmate Arthur Hamilton and produced by Troup. The recording became a million-seller after its release in December 1955 and also sold on reissue in April 1983 from the attention brought by a Mari Wilson cover. London performed the song in the film The Girl Can't Help It (1956), and her recording gained later attention in the films Passion of Mind (2000) and V for Vendetta (2006). The song "Yummy Yummy Yummy" was featured on the HBO television series Six Feet Under and appears on its soundtrack album. London's "Must Be Catchin'" was featured in the 2011 premiere episode of the ABC series Pan Am. Her last recording was "My Funny Valentine" for the soundtrack of the Burt Reynolds film Sharky's Machine (1981).
Other popular singles include "Hot Toddy", "Daddy", and "Desafinado". Recordings such as "Go Slow" epitomized her career style: her voice is slow, smoky, and playfully sensual.
She was married to Jack Webb, of Dragnet fame. Her obvious beauty and self-poise (she was a pinup girl prized by GIs during World War II) contrasted with his pedestrian appearance and stiff-as-a-board acting technique (much parodied by impersonators). This unlikely pairing arose from his and her love for jazz; their marriage lasted from July 1947 to November 1953. They had two daughters, one who was killed in a traffic accident in the 1990s and one who survived London. In 1954, having become somewhat reclusive after her divorce from Jack Webb, she met jazz composer and musician Bobby Troup at a club on La Brea Blvd. They married on December 31, 1959 and remained married until Troup's death in February 1999. Together, they had one daughter and twin sons.
London suffered a stroke in 1995, and was in poor health until her death in Encino, California, at the age of seventy-four, survived by four of her five children. She died on18th October 2000, and was buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.