Her musical career began in earnest when she was discovered in 1930 by Columbia Records vice president Ted Collins, who became her longtime partner and manager and who put her on the radio in 1931. She sang the controversial top twenty song of 1931, "That's Why Darkies Were Born". She starred in the 1932 movie Hello Everybody!, with co-stars Randolph Scott and Sally Blane, and in 1943 she sang "God Bless America" in the wartime picture This is the Army. Irving Berlin had written the song in 1938 for her, and it is considered "the second National Anthem" of the United States. Its popularity and constant airplay led Woody Guthrie to pen the original version of "This Land Is Your Land" in protest at the Berlin tune's unquestioning complacency.
Kate began making records in 1926; among her biggest hits were "River, Stay 'Way From My Door" (1931), "The Woodpecker Song" (1940), "The White Cliffs of Dover" (1941), "Rose O'Day" (1941), "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" (1942), "There Goes That Song Again" (1944), "Seems Like Old Times" (1946), and "Now Is the Hour" (1947). Her theme song was "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain", the lyrics of which she helped write. She greeted audiences with "Hello, everybody!" and signed off with "Thanks for listenin'."
Her oversized figure made her the occasional butt of derision from fellow performers and managers. Despite the occasional ridicule, Smith was a major star of radio, usually backed by Jack Miller's Orchestra. She began in 1931 with her twice-a-week NBC series, Kate Smith Sings (which quickly expanded to six shows a week), followed by a series of shows for CBS: Kate Smith and Her Swanee Music (1931-33), sponsored by La Palina Cigars; The Kate Smith Matinee (1934-35); The Kate Smith New Star Revue (1934-35); Kate Smith's Coffee Time (1935-36), sponsored by A&P; and The Kate Smith A&P Bandwagon (1936-37).
For eight years (1937-45), The Kate Smith Hour was a leading radio variety show, offering comedy, music and drama with appearances by top personalities of films and theater. The nationwide audience was introduced to comedy by the show's resident comics, Abbott and Costello and Henny Youngman, while a series of sketches led to The Aldrich Family as a spin-off in 1940. She continued into the 1950s on the Mutual Broadcasting System, CBS, ABC and NBC, doing both music and talk shows.
An unusual part of her career began on December 11, 1969, when the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team played her rendition of "God Bless America" before the game. Philadelphia beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3. The team would begin to play the song before home games every once in a while, and the perception developed that the team was more successful on these occasions, so the tradition grew.
Kate Smith, who never married, died of diabetes at the age of 79 in Raleigh, North Carolina, several years after converting to Roman Catholicism. (from Wikipedia)
Memories Of You
Kate Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At Sunrise,
Ev'ry sunset too,
Seems to be
Bringing me
Memories of you.
Here and there,
Scenes that we once knew,
And they all
Just recall
Memories of you.
How I wish I could forget
Those happy yesteryears
That have left a rosary of tears.
Your face beams
In my dreams,
Spite of all I do!
Ev'rything
Seems to bring
Memories of you.
How I wish I could forget
Those happy yesteryears
That have left a rosary of tears.
Your face beams
In my dreams,
Spite of all I do!
Ev'rything
Seems to bring
Memories,
All those memories of you.
The song "Memories of You" by Kate Smith is an emotionally-laden piece that seeks to capture the pain of loss and the insistent nature of memory. At its core, the song is about the power of memories and how they can come back to haunt us at any moment, causing our emotions to resurface with a vengeance.
The opening lines of the song set the tone for what follows. The reference to both sunrise and sunset suggests that the singer is constantly being reminded of this person they have lost, regardless of the time of day. The repetition of the phrase "memories of you" throughout the song reinforces this theme, as it is clear that everything the singer sees, hears, or experiences is somehow connected to this person.
The second verse provides a glimpse into the singer's mindset. They admit that they "wish [they] could forget those happy yesteryears that have left a rosary of tears." Here, we see the complexity of emotions at play - the singer is not just mourning the loss of this person, but also the memory of happier times that now feel bittersweet.
Line by Line Meaning
Waking skies
As the sun rises in the morning
At Sunrise,
During the dawn of a new day
Ev'ry sunset too,
And as the sun sets at the end of the day
Seems to be
It appears that
Bringing me
Reminding me of
Memories of you.
Memories of the one I love.
Here and there,
In various places and situations
Ev'rywhere,
All around
Scenes that we once knew,
Reminders of the moments we shared
And they all
Each and every one of them
Just recall
Remind me of
Memories of you.
Memories of the one I love.
How I wish I could forget
I deeply desire to let go of
Those happy yesteryears
The joyful moments we had before
That have left a rosary of tears.
That now cause me to cry.
Your face beams
Your beautiful face shines
In my dreams,
As I sleep and dream
Spite of all I do!
Despite all my efforts to forget
Ev'rything
Everything and anything
Seems to bring
Simply reminds me of
Memories of you.
Memories of the one I love.
All those memories of you.
All of the beautiful memories of the one I love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jim Yester
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind