Kay Starr was successful in every field of music she tried, jazz, country and pop. But her roots were in jazz, Billie Holiday, considered by many the greatest jazz singer of all time, called Starr "the only white woman who could sing the blues."
She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz".
Kay Starr was born on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mother, Annie, was of mixed Irish and American Indian heritage. When her father got a job installing water sprinkler systems, the family moved to Dallas, Texas.
While her father worked for the Automatic Sprinkler Company, her mother raised chickens, and Kay used to sing to the chickens in the coop. As a result of the fact that her aunt, Nora, was impressed by her singing, she began to sing at the age of seven on a Dallas radio station, WRR, first in a talent competition where she finished third one week and won every week thereafter, then with her own weekly fifteen minute show. She sang pop and "hillbilly" songs with a piano accompaniment. By the age of ten, she was making $3 a night, a lot of money in the Depression days.
As a result of her father's changing jobs, her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and she continued performing on the radio, singing "Western swing music," still mostly a mix of country and pop. It was while she was on the Memphis radio station WMPS that, as a result of misspellings in her fan mail, she and her parents decided to give her the name "Kay Starr". At the age of fifteen, she was chosen to sing with the Joe Venuti orchestra. Venuti had a contract to play in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis which called for his band to feature a girl singer, which he did not have; Venuti's road manager heard her on the radio, and suggested her to Venuti. Because she was still in junior high school, her parents insisted that Venuti take her home no later than midnight.
Although she had brief stints in 1939 with Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller (who hired her in July of that year when his regular singer, Marion Hutton, was sick), she spent most of her next few years with Venuti, until he dissolved his band in 1942. It was, however, with Miller that she cut her first record: "Baby Me"/"Love with a Capital You." It was not a great success, in part because the band played in a key more appropriate for Marion Hutton, which was less suited for Kay's vocal range.
After Youve Gone
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
Don't say that we must part
Don't break your baby's heart
You know I've loved you for these many years
Loved you night and day
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
Someday, when you grow lonely
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
After you've gone, after you've gone away
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You're gonna feel bad
And you'll miss, and you'll miss
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
But baby, think what you're doin'
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
It's gonna drive you to ruin
After you've gone, after you've gone away
The song "After You've Gone" by Kay Starr, released in 1953, is a poignant plea from the perspective of a person left behind, pleading with their lover not to leave. The first verse starts with a melancholic tone expressing the heartbreak that the singer feels on hearing the news that their beloved is leaving. The singer implores the lover to reconsider and not to break their heart by leaving them alone. Having loved the person for so many years, the thought of their sudden departure brings tears to the singer's eyes.
The most heartbreaking part of the song, however, is the chorus where the singer warns that the person leaving will eventually feel regret for their decision. The singer insinuates that the time will come when the person leaving will grow lonely and miss them. The chorus is a reflection of the singer's misery and disconsolate position of being left behind. The lyrics underscore the fact that humans tend to give more value to people/ things they have lost or let go of, rather than cherishing and valuing them while they are still within reach.
In conclusion, the song, "After You've Gone" talks about the pain of someone left behind and the regret that the person who left will feel someday. The lyrics emphasise the intensity of separation and the idea of longing that occurs when we lose someone we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Now won't you listen honey, while I say
Please pay attention to what I'm about to say
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
I can't believe you're leaving me
Don't say that we must part
Please don't suggest that we break up
Don't break your baby's heart
Please don't hurt me by leaving
You know I've loved you for these many years
I've loved you for a long time
Loved you night and day
I've loved you all the time
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
I'm crying because you're leaving me
Listen while I say
Please hear me out
After you've gone and left me cryin'
Once you're gone and I'm crying
After you've gone there's no denyin'
Once you're gone there's no denying it
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You'll be unhappy and melancholy
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
You'll miss me, your closest friend
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
You'll regret leaving me, remember that
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
You'll eventually regret leaving me
Someday, when you grow lonely
One day, when you feel lonely
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
You'll be heartbroken like me and only want me
After you've gone, after you've gone away
Once you've left me
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You'll be unhappy and melancholy
You're gonna feel bad
You'll feel terrible
And you'll miss, and you'll miss
You'll really miss
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
You'll really miss me, your closest friend
But baby, think what you're doin'
Please think about what you're doing
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
I'm going to bother you and tease you
It's gonna drive you to ruin
It will make you feel really bad
After you've gone, after you've gone away
Once you've left me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Henry Creamer, Turner Layton, Ray Sherman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
D W
Impeccable phrasing
leleleloni emiemeimei
Ain't this something
Paul Money
Absurdly fast, which is why it's all about half a tone sharp. Should be removed out of respect for the artist!