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.
Allez-vous-en Go Away
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get it off my shoulder
Say the things we used to say
And make the world, make it go away
Do you remember when you loved me
Before the world took you away
Well if you do, then forgive me
And make the world, make it go away
Get it off my shoulder
Say the things we used to say
And make the world, make it go away
Now Im sorry if I hurt you
Let me make it up to you day by day
And if you will please forgive me
And make the world, make it go away
Make the world go away
Get it off my shoulder
Say the things we used to say
And make the world, make it go away
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song "Allez-vous-en Go Away" express a desire to escape from the pressures of the world and find refuge in the comfort of familiar love. The singer longs to forget the troubles of the world and be free of the weight that it places on them. They call out to their lover to remember the love they once shared and to forgive them for any pain they may have caused. They plead with their lover to make the world go away, to say the things they used to say, and to restore their relationship to its former state of happiness and security.
The song reflects a common experience of many people, who feel weighed down by the stresses and pressures of the world and crave the comfort and stability of loving relationships. The lyrics also suggest that even when relationships are strained or broken, there is still hope for reconciliation and healing if both parties are willing to forgive and work towards rebuilding the love that was once shared.
Line by Line Meaning
Make the world go away
I want to escape from the stresses of reality and remove them from my shoulders.
Get it off my shoulder
I feel weighed down by the problems and challenges of life.
Say the things we used to say
I long for the days when we were happy and carefree, and I want to recapture that feeling by saying familiar and comforting things to you.
And make the world, make it go away
By returning to our past happiness, we can make everything in the present disappear.
Do you remember when you loved me
I am reminiscing about the past, when our love was strong and filled with hope for the future.
Before the world took you away
But then something happened that pulled us apart and shattered that optimistic vision of our future.
Well if you do, then forgive me
If you still remember our love, and if I did something to cause its destruction, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Now Im sorry if I hurt you
I regret any actions or words of mine that could have damaged our love and relationship.
Let me make it up to you day by day
I am willing to put in the effort and time to make amends and rebuild our love step by step.
And if you will please forgive me
I am asking for your forgiveness and hoping that we can move past any hurt or pain and start anew.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hank Cochran
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
bill hardman
I think I remember hearing this sang way back in the late 40s or early 50s. what a great voice and delivery Kay had. Really miss this kind of music.
David Walsh
I love to hear Kay Starr on these lovely old ballads. She was a magical performer. She could sing just about any type of song to perfection. They don't make singers like this anymore.
mreunome
This is the first Kay Starr recording I ever heard on the radio about 20 years ago and my favorite. I became a fan of hers. I just realized she died only 5 years ago at 94. RIP Kay.
Joseph Papalia
Just a beautiful rendition filled with memories of a time so dear!
Esperswhisper
What wonderful and sad memories this brings me. I was in 10th grade and I had been dating the same, beautiful girt since 7th grade. She always sang this song to me and we were always talking about getting married when we graduated high school. But I was young and knew more about lust than love so I broke up with her to date a girl who was sexy and had a loose reputation. Short version, I eventually married the girl with the bad reputation and my long time girl friend eventually married a good friend of mine.. My marriage was a very predictable train wreck.and in a short time we divorced. 50 plus years later when ever I hear this song I remember all the wonderful times I had with the girl I walked away from, and my heart aches for the loss of her by my own doing. Thank you for posting it.
JOHN MARSICOVETERE
I have been looking for this 1953 big hit from Kay Starr....Thanks for posting..
Christopher Howse
Sitting in a theatre in New York watching "Can Can" was my introduction. Actually, this is the better version and a better singer. Still, it was a great Cole Porter score, well worth being posted. Thank You! verycoolsound.
Amelia Jabry
Thanks for posting this - my sister sang this :')
jeh500
So wonderful to find this treasure.
sam bean
Thanks so much for posting this rarely heard song from Can Can . Fell in love with sweet Susanne listening to this in the summer of '53 at the tender age of 16. My first!