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.
Walk On By
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pardon me if I don't say hello (say hello)
I belong to another, it wouldn't look so good
To know someone I'm not supposed to know.
Just walk on by, wait on the corner
I love you, but we're strangers when we meet
Just walk on by, wait on the corner
In a dimly lit corner in a place outside of town
Tonight we'll try to say goodbye again (say goodbye)
But I know it's not over, I'll call tomorrow night
I can't let you go so why pretend
Just walk on by, wait on the corner
I love you, but we're strangers when we meet
Just walk on by, wait on the corner
I love you, but we're strangers when we meet
I love you, but we're strangers when we meet
The song "Walk On By" by Kay Starr is a heartbreaking tale of a person who is in love with someone they cannot be with. The song speaks of the singer's desire to avoid their love interest if they meet on the street because they do not belong to each other. The artist does not want people to think that they have any association with the person they love since they do not want to attract any unwanted attention.
The song throws light on the difficulties of being in love with someone who is not yours. While the artist loves her interest, she knows that they cannot be together, and so she has to distance herself from them. The song further talks about the lovebirds meeting in a dimly lit corner, trying to say goodbye; however, the artist knows that it is not over and will call the following night. The artist adds that even though she cannot let go of the person she loves, they are strangers when they meet in public since they cannot be together.
In conclusion, "Walk On By" by Kay Starr is a haunting song that touches on the pain of forbidden love. The artist portrays the struggles that one goes through when in love with someone they cannot be with. The lyrics are heartfelt, and the melody adds to the melancholic nature of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
If I see you tomorrow on some street in town
If by chance I encounter you tomorrow while walking on the street in this city
Pardon me if I don't say hello (say hello)
Please forgive me if I don't greet you or acknowledge your presence
I belong to another, it wouldn't look so good
I am already in a committed relationship with someone else and it would be inappropriate to be seen chatting with you
To know someone I'm not supposed to know.
It would be problematic for me to be seen associating with a person who is not socially acceptable for me to know
Just walk on by, wait on the corner
Please ignore me and keep walking, while I stay here on the side of the street
I love you, but we're strangers when we meet
I have feelings for you, but we cannot act on them as we are not on speaking terms with each other
In a dimly lit corner in a place outside of town
Somewhere outside the city, we will meet in a shady and secluded spot
Tonight we'll try to say goodbye again (say goodbye)
Tonight we will attempt to say farewell once more
But I know it's not over, I'll call tomorrow night
I am aware that our relationship is not finished and I will contact you again tomorrow evening
I can't let you go so why pretend
I am unable to move on from our relationship, hence there is no point in pretending to be over you
I love you, but we're strangers when we meet
Once again, I express that I love you, but we can only remain strangers for now
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Kendall Hayes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Johnnycdrums
The great Kay Starr sings her version of "Walk On By". Check out her version of "Night Train" it's my favorite and I've heard them all.