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.
The End Of The World
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why does the sea rush to shore
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me any more
Why do the birds go on singing
Why do the stars glow above
Don't they know it's the end of the world
I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does
Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
Lyrics from eLyrics.net
Julie London's song The End of the World speaks to the feeling of heartbreak and the sense of despair that comes with it. The repetition of the question "why" throughout the song conveys a feeling of confusion, and the existential questions posed about the continued existence of the sun, the sea, the birds, and the stars contrast with the personal devastation of lost love. It's a poignant reminder of how it feels when our world collapses, but the world outside carries on like nothing has changed.
The opening lines of the song paint a vivid picture of the world after a heartbreak. The singer asks why the sun goes on shining and the sea rushes to shore, as if the world is oblivious to the pain she's experiencing. The questions of the second verse continue in the same vein, highlighting the disparity between the external world and the singer's internal experience. The line "I can't understand, no, I can't understand how life goes on the way it does" sums up the feeling of disconnect perfectly. Lastly, the chorus repeats the question of why the heart keeps beating and the eyes keep crying, despite the end of the world having already occurred with the loss of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Why does the sun go on shining
Why does the world keep turning, even though my heart has stopped?
Why does the sea rush to shore
Why does everything in nature seem to continue as normal, when my world has been shattered?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
Do the rest of the world not realise that everything has changed for me, and that my world has indeed ended?
'Cause you don't love me any more
The reason my world has ended is due to losing the love of my life.
Why do the birds go on singing
Why do the birds continue to sing, even though there's nothing left for me?
Why do the stars glow above
Why does the universe seem to continue on as usual, when my own little world has fallen apart?
It ended when I lost your love
The world as I knew it came to an end when my love left me, and nothing will ever be the same again.
I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Every day feels like a struggle, and even waking up is a challenge since nothing feels the same.
Why everything's the same as it was
Everything around me looks the same, but it's all changed inside my heart.
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
No matter how hard I try, I can't make sense of why this has happened to me.
How life goes on the way it does
It feels like the world should have stopped turning, but somehow everything just keeps going, even though I'm filled with so much pain.
Why does my heart go on beating
How can my heart keep beating when the love of my life is gone?
Why do these eyes of mine cry
My tears won't stop falling, even though it feels like I've run out of them a long time ago.
Don't they know it's the end of the world
Doesn't anyone else understand that my world has ended, and I'll never be the same again?
It ended when you said goodbye
The moment my love said goodbye, the world as I knew it came to an end, and I can never go back.
Why does my heart go on beating
Even though I'm broken inside, my heart won't stop beating, and I'm forced to keep going on.
Why do these eyes of mine cry
My tears never seem to dry up, and my eyes are constantly puffy and red from all the crying.
Don't they know it's the end of the world
The world may keep turning, but my world has already ended, and there's no going back.
It ended when you said goodbye
Everything I knew and loved came to an end when my love said goodbye, and nothing can ever fill that void in my heart.
Writer(s): Sylvia Dee, Arthur Kent Copyright: Music Sales Corporation
Contributed by Savannah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
cool boy
Why does the sun keep on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don’t they know it’s the end of the world
‘Cause you don’t love me anymore
Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don’t they know it’s the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love
I wake up in the morning and wonder
Why everything’s the same as it was
I can’t understand no I can’t understand
How life goes on the way it does
Why does my heart keep on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don’t they know it’s the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
(Why does my heart go on beating?)
(Why do these eyes of mine cry?)
Don’t they know it’s the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
Dra. Catalina Martinez
Why does the sun keep on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?
Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love
I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why ev'rything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does
Why does my heart keep on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
Why does my heart keep on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
João Batista de Mello Ayres Neto
The End of the World
com Julie London
Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?
Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love
I wake up in the morning and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does
Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye
KAI.
It was a fitting end.
A perfect tragedy.
A doomed love story.
And then I didn’t die.
Peter Hutchings
@sleep walk this is the one they used in the show, listen to them both plus its credited
sleep walk
right song, wrong singer. the version that was used in teotfw was by the original singer Skeeter Davis.
antonio ortiz
Maybe my favorite James quote
TeeVee Studios
TEOTFW Season 2
:l
Delya Al
RiotBurn51 😍😍😍
Samuel Puan
I love Julie London's interpretation. Absolutely beautiful!
Denise Zerda
Samuel Puan concuerdo
Nathalie de Bourget
its true
jonathan birchley
This is a favorite song of mine, and this is among the best versions. Julie's sad eyes and voice are perfect. Thanks for posting.