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.
I've Grown Accustomed to His Face
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've grown accustomed to his face.
She almost makes the day begin.
I've grown accustomed to the tune
That she whistles night and noon.
his smiles, his frowns,
his ups, his downs
Are second nature to me now,
I was serenely independent
And content before we met.
Surely I could always be that way again - and yet,
I've grown accustomed to his look,
Accustomed to his voice,
Accustomed to his face.
Marry Freddy. What an infantile idea. What a heartless,
wicked, brainless thing to do. But she'll regret it. It's
doomed before they even take the vow.
I can see his now, Mrs. Freddy Eynsford-Hill,
In a wretched little flat above a store.
I can see his now, not a penny in the till,
And a bill collector beating at the door.
She'll try to teach the things I taught his,
And end up selling flowers instead.
Begging for his bread and water,
While his husband has his breakfast in bed.
In a year or so, when she's prematurely grey,
And the blossom in his cheek has turned to chalk,
She'll come home and lo,
He'll have upped and run away,
With a social-climbing heiress from New York.
Poor Eliza. How simply frightful!
How humiliating! How delightful!
How poignant it'll be on that inevitable night
When she hammers on my door in tears and rags.
Miserable and lonely, repentant and contrite,
Will I take his in or hurl his to the walls?
Give his kindness or the treatment she deserves?
Will I take his back or throw the baggage out?
But, I'm a most forgiving man,
The sort who never could, never would,
Take a position and staunchly never budge.
A most forgiving man.
But I shall never take take his back
If she were even crawling on his knees.
Let his promise to atone,
Let his shiver, let his moan,
I'll slam the door and let the hell-cat freeze!
Marry Freddy, HA!
But I'm so used to hear his day,
"Good morning" every day.
his joys, his woes,
his highs, his lows,
Are second nature to me now,
Like breathing out and breathing in.
I'm very grateful she's a woman,
And so easy to forget, like a habit
One can always break - and yet,
I've grown accustomed to the trace,
Of something in the air,
Accustomed to his face.
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face depicts a story of a woman who has grown accustomed to her partner's presence in her life. In the beginning, the woman seems to be content with her independence before meeting him, but she now finds herself unable to let go of him. She has grown accustomed to his facial expressions, his whistling, his daily greetings, and everything about him, even his highs and lows are second nature to her.
The woman seems to be describing a scenario where her significant other may leave her and marry someone else, but she is so used to his presence and routine that she will still miss him despite his potential foolish decision. The tone of the lyrics suggests that the woman may not be entirely happy with her partner, but still feels drawn to him. She even makes sarcastic comments about his possible wife's future struggles in her absence.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the theme of growing accustomed to someone's presence, with the woman singing how his voice, looks, and face have become her second nature. Despite the woman's despair about her partner's potential departure, the song doesn't explicitly say whether he does, in fact, leave her, leaving the ending open to interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!
Expressing frustration at becoming attached to someone's face.
I've grown accustomed to his face.
Getting used to seeing someone's face regularly.
She almost makes the day begin.
Feeling that seeing someone's face makes the day start nicely.
I've grown accustomed to the tune that she whistles night and noon.
Becoming used to hearing someone whistle day and night.
His smiles, his frowns, his ups, his downs are second nature to me now, like breathing out and breathing in.
Being comfortable with someone's moods, feelings, and behavior is as natural as breathing.
I was serenely independent and content before we met. Surely, I could always be that way again - and yet, I've grown accustomed to his look, accustomed to his voice, accustomed to his face.
Thinking that one can be happy without someone else, but getting used to someone's looks, voice, and face makes it difficult to want to revert back to previous thinking.
Marry Freddy. What an infantile idea. What a heartless, wicked, brainless thing to do. But she'll regret it. It's doomed before they even take the vow.
Disagreeing with someone's assumed idea to marry Freddy, thinking it is an immature, cruel, and stupid decision that will not last.
I can see his now, Mrs. Freddy Eynsford-Hill, in a wretched little flat above a store. I can see his now, not a penny in the till, and a bill collector beating at the door. She'll try to teach the things I taught his, and end up selling flowers instead. Begging for his bread and water, while his husband has his breakfast in bed.
Imagining that marrying Freddy would lead to a poor and unhappy life, struggling for money while teaching flower-selling.
In a year or so, when she's prematurely grey, and the blossom in his cheek has turned to chalk, she'll come home, and lo, he'll have upped and run away, with a social-climbing heiress from New York. Poor Eliza. How simply frightful! How humiliating! How delightful!
Expecting that in a year or so, Freddy's wife, Eliza, will be old, Freddy will have left for someone richer, and finding it amusing to watch.
How poignant it'll be on that inevitable night, when she hammers on my door in tears and rags. Miserable and lonely, repentant, and contrite, will I take his in or hurl his to the walls? Give his kindness or the treatment she deserves? Will I take his back or throw the baggage out?
Considering how it will feel when Eliza comes searching for comfort, whether or not to be kind or harsh to her and whether or not to take Freddy back.
But, I'm a most forgiving man, the sort who never could, never would, take a position and staunchly never budge. A most forgiving man.
Being an easily forgiving person who never holds grudges or takes harsh positions.
But, I shall never take his back if she were even crawling on his knees. Let his promise to atone, let his shiver, let his moan, I'll slam the door and let the hell-cat freeze!
Deciding that under any circumstance, Freddy is not welcome back, even if his wife begs for forgiveness.
Marry Freddy, HA!
Mocking the idea of marrying Freddy and thinking it unlikely that they will be happy together.
But I'm so used to hear his day, 'Good morning' every day. His joys, his woes, his highs, his lows are second nature to me now, like breathing out and breathing in.
Being so used to hearing a person's voice and knowing their emotions that it is now second nature like breathing out and breathing in.
I'm very grateful she's a woman, and so easy to forget, like a habit. One can always break - and yet, I've grown accustomed to the trace of something in the air. Accustomed to his face.
Being grateful for Eliza being a woman and not important to remember, but still finding the scent in the air somewhat familiar and getting attached to the face associated with it.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind