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.
Perfidia
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tanto que ya no puedo sollozar
Solo temblando de ansiedad estoy
Todos me miran y se van
To you
My heart cries out "Perfidia"
For I find you, the love of my life
Your eyes are echoing "Perfidia"
Forgetful of the promise of love
You're sharing another's charms
With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down and laugh
At what romantic fools we mortals be
And now, I know* my love was not for you
And so I take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, Goodbye
With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down and laugh
At what romantic fools we mortals be
And now, I know* my love was not for you
And so I take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, Goodbye
Goodbye
The lyrics of Julie London's song "Perfidia" express a deep sense of sorrow and heartbreak. The opening lines, "Nadie comprende lo que sufro yo / Tanto que ya no puedo sollozar" translate to "No one understands my suffering / So much so that I can't even cry." The singer is tormented by their emotions, unable to express them to others. The lines "Solo temblando de ansiedad estoy / Todos me miran y se van" ("I'm shaking with anxiety alone / Everyone looks at me and leaves") convey a sense of isolation and abandonment. The singer is left to grapple with their pain on their own.
The chorus of the song expresses the singer's heartache over a lost love, who is now with someone else. They sing, "To you / My heart cries out 'Perfidia' / For I find you, the love of my life / In somebody else's arms." The word "perfidia" means "betrayal" or "treason," and it conveys the deep hurt that the singer feels. They are devastated that the person they love has moved on to someone else.
The rest of the song deals with the singer's acceptance of the situation, as painful as it is. They acknowledge that their love was not reciprocated, singing "And now, I know my love was not for you / And so I take it back with a sigh / Perfidious one, Goodbye." Despite the heartbreak and disappointment, the singer ultimately decides that it's time to move on.
Overall, "Perfidia" is a poignant and melancholic song about lost love and the pain of betrayal. Through its lyrics, Julie London captures the deep emotions of heartbreak and the difficulties of moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
Nadie comprende lo que sufro yo
No one understands the pain I'm going through
Tanto que ya no puedo sollozar
So much that I can no longer cry
Solo temblando de ansiedad estoy
I'm just trembling with anxiety
Todos me miran y se van
Everyone looks at me and leaves
To you
To the one I love
My heart cries out "Perfidia"
My heart cries out the word "Perfidia"
For I find you, the love of my life
Because I see you, the one I love
In somebody else's arms
In the arms of someone else
Your eyes are echoing "Perfidia"
Your eyes are reflecting the word "Perfidia"
Forgetful of the promise of love
Ignoring the promise of love
You're sharing another's charms
You're enjoying someone else's love
With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
My dreams are fading away like a broken song
While the gods of love look down and laugh
While the gods of love watch and mock
At what romantic fools we mortals be
For how foolish we mortals are when it comes to love
And now, I know* my love was not for you
And now, I realize that my love was not meant for you
And so I take it back with a sigh
So I take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, Goodbye
Deceitful one, goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Michael Mendez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mohamed Alaa
To you
My heart cries out "Perfidia"
For I find you, the love of my life
In somebody else's arms
Your eyes
Are echoing "Perfidia"
Forgetful of our promise of love
You're sharing another's charms
With a sad lament my dreams have faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down
And laugh at what romantic fools we mortals be
And now
I know my love was not for you
And so I'll take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, goodbye
With a sad lament my dreams have faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down
And laugh at what romantic fools we mortals be
And now
I know my love was not for you
And so I'll take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, goodbye
ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΑΡΓΥΡΙΟΥ
To you my heart cries out, Perfidia
For I found you, the love of my life, in somebody else's arms
Your eyes are echoing perfidia
Forgetful of our promise of love, you're sharing another's charms...
With a sad lament my dreams have faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down and laugh at what romantic fools we mortals be...
And now I know my love was not for you
And so I take it back with a sigh, perfidious one
Goodbye...
marya milagros
This song hugs my ears . It smoothes my senses. What a voice and a beauty also. Treasures in music: Julie London ! 🎶🎵🎼🎤🎧🌸🌼🌷💮💐
Rick rick
You talk real good lol
Zaboo Donalt
Beautiful alto voice.The way she uses the ornament notes is so unique
Ruth Lawson
Yes i agree she has a great voice lovely lady
Roy Friedman
This is one of the greatest jazz/pop recordings of all time.
Julia
Yes, one of the most beautiful boleros ever written! Mexicano puro!
ScuderiaTurini
Truly awesome performance, makes you stop and listen.
.
.
Stephan Münz
Gütiger Gott!
This one makes you want to dance, cry and laugh at the same time.
She is criminally underrated.
Milton Santiago
PERFIDIA HAS TO BE THE BEST SONG EVER...THERE ARE SO MANY BEAUTIFUL VERSIONS OF HIS SONG. I REALLY LIKE THEM ALL!!!
kerkalianer
She is in heaven singing for us, no tatoos, no belly piercings, what a voice, what a woman! I was born in 1956, wrong time... Thanks for posting.