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.
Bonaparte's Retreat
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a town way down in Dixie
'Neath the stars above
He was the sweetest man you ever did see
When he held me in his arms
And told me of my many charms
He kissed me while the fiddles played
All the world was bright
When he held me on that night
And I heard him say
"Please don't ever go away"
When he held me in his arms
And told me of my many charms
He kissed me while the fiddles played
The Bonaparte's retreat
When he held me in his arms
And told me of my many charms
He kissed me while the fiddles played
The Bonaparte's retreat
All the world was bright
When he held me on that night
And I heard him say
"Please don't you go away"
He's gone and I'll admit I knew
That I had met my waterloo
I knew that he would say a do
With Bonaparte's retreat
Goodbye little boy
Goodbye little Joy
Goodbye little boy
So long little Joy
Goodbye little boy
The song "Bonaparte's Retreat" by Kay Starr tells the story of a woman who met and fell in love with a man in the southern town of Dixie. She describes him as the sweetest man she had ever seen and recalls the night they met under the stars. As they danced to the tune of the fiddles playing "Bonaparte's Retreat", he held her tight in his arms and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She felt like the world was bright and everything was perfect when he was with her. Sadly, the man is no longer with her and she admits that she had met her waterloo. The song ends with her bidding goodbye to the little boy and joy that he had brought into her life.
The lyrics in this song paint the picture of a bittersweet love story. The woman reminisces about the happy times she shared with the man she loved but mourns the fact that he is gone. The term "waterloo" is a metaphor for being defeated, and it implies that she was powerless to stop the man from leaving her. The use of the fiddles in the song is a nod to traditional southern folk music, which is also reflected in the location where the couple met.
Line by Line Meaning
Met the man I love
I met the man I love
In a town way down in Dixie
I met him in a southern town
'Neath the stars above
It was a romantic night under the stars
He was the sweetest man you ever did see
He was the kindest and most charming man I've ever met
When he held me in his arms
He embraced me tightly
And told me of my many charms
He complimented me on my great qualities
He kissed me while the fiddles played
We shared a passionate kiss along with the music
The Bonaparte's retreat
The name of the song being played was Bonaparte's retreat
All the world was bright
Everything felt joyful and elated
When he held me on that night
That night was one of the best nights ever
And I heard him say
He voiced his heartfelt emotions
"Please don't ever go away"
He begged me not to leave him
He's gone and I'll admit I knew
He's left me and I wasn't surprised
That I had met my waterloo
I realize I have encountered a major setback
I knew that he would say a do
I knew we would part ways eventually
With Bonaparte's retreat
The music still playing in the background
Goodbye little boy
A farewell to my former lover
Goodbye little Joy
A farewell to the happiness I once felt
So long little boy
A final farewell to my ex-partner
Goodbye little boy
Saying goodbye to my former love for the last time
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David Eric Swarbrick, Dp
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
hartless76
Wow! This song sounds a lot older than the release date. Kay Starr had a wonderful voice. ♥
Daria Wells
I love the Pee Wee King version a lot better. Milwaukee represent!
Andiamo!
Now this really gets my attention. Are they American or Canadian women?