Burrell made his first recording in 1951, with Dizzy Gillespie. After moving from Detroit to New York City in 1956, he recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians, including John Coltrane, Benny Goodman, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine, and Cedar Walton. He also led his own groups since 1951.
In the 1970s he began leading seminars about music, particularly Duke Ellington's (Burrell has a music degree from Wayne State University). A highly popular performer, he has won several jazz polls in Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the United States.
He has recorded about 40 LPs, including Midnight Blue (1961), Blue Lights, Guitar Forms, Sunup To Sundown (1990), Soft Winds (1993), Then Along Came Kenny (1993), and Lotus Blossom (1995).
Burrell now serves as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA.
Everydays
Kenny Burrell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every day's a killing time
Sun coming up outside
No men are born this time
Saturday's child stays home
Nothing to say so long
[Chorus]
Another day
Well, well, well
Another day
Grocery store, ten bucks
Just making change for plastic cherries
Up in a tree, jaybird
Laughing at me, no word
Everyone looks, you can't see
We can't be ignored easily
[Chorus]
Soft within the wayward things
Like ecstasy
The sound of trees
Most anything
What a baby sees
Beautiful face, alright
Many a place, out of sight
Old woman there with red shoes
One million balloons, all used
Drive over hills, forget your fear
Getting it out of second gear
[Chorus: x2]
The lyrics to Kenny Burrell's song Everydays appear to be melancholic and somewhat confusing at first glance. The opening lines "Look at the sad goodbyes, Every day's a killing time, Sun coming up outside, No men are born this time" could be interpreted as the narration of someone who is witnessing the end of something or someone. The use of the phrase "Every day's a killing time" could also be a metaphor for the idea that life, in general, is a long cycle of goodbyes and endings that never truly ends.
The chorus "Well, well, well, Another day" seems to be a response to this melancholia, implying that even though every day may seem like a repetition of the previous, life goes on, and there will always be another day. The following verse "Grocery store, ten bucks, Just making change for plastic cherries, Up in a tree, jaybird, Laughing at me, no word" could be a momentary escape from the sadness or the singer's attempt at making light of the mundane.
The later parts of the song continue with a string of seemingly unconnected sentences arranged without a defined structure. The lyrics could mean different things to different people, but the overall vibe that comes from the song is of an old but familiar sadness. It could be a song about the struggles of living in a world that keeps moving too fast or never really changing despite the passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at the sad goodbyes
Observing the sorrowful farewells of people departing from each other
Every day's a killing time
Every day feels like a struggle, like time is slowly taking its toll
Sun coming up outside
The beginning of a new day, the sun rising outside
No men are born this time
There are no new people being born at this moment
Saturday's child stays home
A person born on Saturday may choose to stay at home and be comfortable
Nothing to say so long
No need for a long farewell or goodbye
Chorus: Well, well, well / Another day
Reflecting on the repetition of each day, another day begins
Grocery store, ten bucks
Buying groceries with only ten dollars
Just making change for plastic cherries
Just exchanging money to get plastic coins in exchange
Up in a tree, jaybird
Watching a bird perched on a tree branch
Laughing at me, no word
The bird seems to be laughing but there is no sound coming out
Everyone looks, you can't see
People are watching but it is impossible to see everything
We can't be ignored easily
People may try to ignore us but it is not an easy task
Chorus: Well, well, well / Another day
Reflecting on the repetition of each day, another day begins
Soft within the wayward things
Finding calmness among the unpredictable things in life
Like ecstasy / The sound of trees / Most anything / What a baby sees
Feeling pure joy, like the sound of rustling leaves and everything a baby sees
Beautiful face, alright
Looking at a beautiful person and finding it pleasing
Many a place, out of sight
There are many beautiful places hidden out of sight
Old woman there with red shoes
Seeing an old woman wearing red shoes
One million balloons, all used
A million balloons have been used up and are now gone
Drive over hills, forget your fear / Getting it out of second gear
Driving over hills and forgetting fears, moving past second gear and advancing in life
Chorus: Well, well, well / Another day
Reflecting on the repetition of each day, another day begins
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEPHEN STILLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind