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.
Breezin Along with the Breeze
Kay Starr Lyrics
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No one to love or care for me
Knocked around all over, kinda grew up wild
My home's wherever I may be
Ain't no someone yearnin', wonderin' where I be
I'm gone, but no one's missin' me
Ain't no light a-burnin' ev'ry night for me
I'm just breezin' along with the breeze
Trailin' the rails, roamin' the seas
Like the birdies that sing in the trees
Pleasin' to live, livin' to please
The sky is the only roof I have over my head
And when I'm weary, Mother Nature makes me a bed
I'm just goin' along as I please
Breezin' along with the breeze
I'm just breezin' along with the breeze
I'm trailin' the rails, roamin' the seas
Like the birdies that sing in the trees
I'm pleasin' to live and livin' to please
The sky is the only roof I have over my head
And when I'm weary, Mother Nature makes me a bed
I'm just goin' along as I please
Breezin' along with the breeze
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song "Breezin' Along with the Breeze" speak about a life of freedom and wanderlust. The singer describes herself as a rover, growing up without anyone to love or care for her. She has wandered all over and has grown up wild, with no home or anyone to miss her when she is gone. The singer feels like a bird flying free, not tied down to any one place, and able to follow her own desires wherever they may lead her.
Despite her lack of material possessions, the singer finds pleasure in the simple things in life. She trails the rails and roams the seas, singing like the birdies that she hears in the trees. Her only roof is the sky above her, and when she is tired, Mother Nature provides her with a bed. The singer is content to just go along as she pleases, enjoying the freedom that comes with living life on her own terms and being unencumbered by the expectations of others.
In this way, the lyrics to "Breezin' Along with the Breeze" can be interpreted as an ode to the joys of living a free and unencumbered life. While some may see a life without a stable home or anyone to miss them as lonely or sad, the singer chooses to embrace the freedom that comes with not being tied down to any one place or person. The song encourages us to find joy in the simple things in life, and to pursue our own desires with the same carefree abandon as the birds that sing in the trees.
Line by Line Meaning
I have been a rover since I was a child
Since my childhood, I have always been moving and wandering from place to place
No one to love or care for me
I never had anyone to show me love or care for me during my journey
Knocked around all over, kinda grew up wild
Having no one to guide and protect me, I had to navigate through life's obstacles all by myself and became self-reliant
My home's wherever I may be
As a wanderer, I find my home in any place I find myself in at any given time
Ain't no someone yearnin', wonderin' where I be
There's no one waiting for me or wondering about my whereabouts
I'm gone, but no one's missin' me
I'm physically absent, but no one is emotionally affected by it or missing me
Ain't no light a-burnin' every night for me
There's no dedicated light or place that signals my return or presence
I'm like a bird that's flyin' free
I'm a free spirit, moving around and exploring the world like a bird
I'm just breezin' along with the breeze
I'm moving freely and fluidly through life, without any restraints or worries
Trailin' the rails, roamin' the seas
I'm exploring the world by following railways and traveling across the seas
Like the birdies that sing in the trees
Similar to birds chirping happily in the trees, I'm also enjoying life and its pleasures
Pleasin' to live, livin' to please
I'm living my life in a way that is satisfying and fulfilling, prioritizing my own happiness
The sky is the only roof I have over my head
As a wanderer, I don't have a permanent shelter, so the open sky is the closest thing to a roof over my head
And when I'm weary, Mother Nature makes me a bed
When I'm tired and need rest, I find comfort in the natural world and use it as my bed
I'm just goin' along as I please
I'm living my life freely and unrestrained, without conforming to anyone else's standards
Breezin' along with the breeze
I'm effortlessly moving through life, enjoying its beauty and opportunities as I go
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAVEN GILLESPIE, RICHARD WHITING, RICHARD A. WHITING, SEYMOUR B SIMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind