Wiley was born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. While still in her early teens, she left home to pursue a singing career with the Leo Reisman band. Her career was temporarily interrupted by a fall while horseback riding. Wiley suffered temporary blindness, but recovered, and at the age of 19 was back with Reisman again, with whom she recorded three songs: "Take It From Me," "Time On My Hands," and her own composition, "Got The South In My Soul." She sang with Paul Whiteman and later, the Casa Loma Orchestra. A collaboration with composer Victor Young resulted in several songs for which Wiley wrote the lyrics, including "Got The South in My Soul" and "Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere," the latter an R&B hit in the 1950s.
In 1939, Wiley recorded eight Gershwin songs on 78s with a small group for Liberty Music Shops. The set sold well and was followed by 78s dedicated to the music of Cole Porter (1940) and Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart (1940 and 1954), Harold Arlen (1943), and 10" LPs dedicated to the music of Vincent Youmans and Irving Berlin (1951). The players on these recordings included Bunny Berigan, Bud Freeman, Max Kaminsky, Fats Waller, Billy Butterfield, Bobby Hackett, Eddie Condon, Stan Freeman, Cy Walter, and the bandleader Jess Stacy, to whom Wiley was married for a number of years. These influential albums launched the concept of a "songbook" (often featuring lesser-known songs), which was later widely imitated by other singers.
Wiley's career made a resurgence in 1950 with the much admired ten-inch album Night in Manhattan. In 1954, she opened the very first Newport Jazz Festival accompanied by Bobby Hackett. Later in the decade she recorded two of her finest albums, West of the Moon (1956) and A Touch of the Blues (1957). In the 1960s, Wiley retired, although she acted in a 1963 television film, Something About Lee Wiley, which told her life story. The film stimulated interest in the singer. Her last public appearance was a concert in Carnegie Hall in 1972 as part of the New York Jazz Festival, where she was enthusiastically received.
You Took Advantage of Me
Lee Wiley Lyrics
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It must go to someone of course
It can't be sister or brother
And so I love my horse
But horses are frequently silly
Mine ran from the beach of Okhala
And left me alone for a filly
So I have picked you up
I'm a sentimental sap, that's all
What's the use of trying not to fall?
I have no will, you've made your kill
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm just like an apple on a bough
And you're gonna shake me down somehow
So, what's the use, you've cooked my goose
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm so hot and bothered that
I don't know my elbow from my ear
I suffer something awful each time
You go and much worse when you're near
Here I am with all my bridges burned
Just a babe in arms where you're concerned
So lock the doors and call me yours
Cause you took advantage of me.
I'm a sentimental sap, that's all
What's the use of trying not to fall?
I have no will, you've made your kill
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm just like an apple on a bough
And you're gonna shake me down somehow
So, what's the use, you've cooked my goose
Cause you took advantage of me
I'm so hot and bothered that
I don't know my elbow from my ear
I suffer something awful each time
You go and much worse when you're near
Here I am with all my bridges burned
Just a babe in arms where you're concerned
So lock the doors and call me yours
Cause you took advantage of me
You took advantage of me
The lyrics of Lee Wiley's "You Took Advantage of Me" is a playful and insightful take on the idea of surrendering oneself to love. The song is written in the form of a confession by the singer, who admits to being a "sentimental sap" who has fallen head over heels in love with her partner. The opening stanza, where the singer compares her love to that of a mother's heart, sets the tone for the rest of the song. She then goes on to describe how her previous love interest, who she compared to a horse, left her for another lover. This provides the context for her subsequent statement that "it must go to someone, of course," which leads her to pick up her current partner, who she admits to being so hot and bothered for that she can barely think straight.
Throughout the song, the singer's language is expressive and vivid. She compares herself to an apple on a bough and confesses that her situation has left her with all her bridges burned. The refrain of the song, "You took advantage of me," is both a statement of fact and an admission of vulnerability. The singer knows that her partner has the upper hand in their relationship, but she's willing to be vulnerable and give herself over to the passion of their love.
Overall, "You Took Advantage of Me" is a charming and witty song that explores the themes of love and surrender. The lyrics are particularly effective in conveying the singer's vulnerability and her willingness to be swept up in the passion of her love interest.
Line by Line Meaning
When a girl has the heart of a mother
It must go to someone of course
It can't be sister or brother
And so I love my horse
When a woman has a maternal instinct, she must direct it towards someone. A horse is often silly but I love it, even though it ran away from me and left me alone to be with a filly.
I'm a sentimental sap, that's all
What's the use of trying not to fall?
I have no will, you've made your kill
Cause you took advantage of me
I am an emotional person and there's no point in pretending not to be. I have no self-control and you have taken advantage of that vulnerability.
I'm just like an apple on a bough
And you're gonna shake me down somehow
So, what's the use, you've cooked my goose
Cause you took advantage of me
I am easy to manipulate, just like an apple on a tree. You will find a way to exploit me and it's too late to do anything since you've already done it.
I'm so hot and bothered that
I don't know my elbow from my ear
I suffer something awful each time
You go and much worse when you're near
I am so flustered that I can't even tell my body parts apart. Whenever you leave, I am in pain and it gets worse when you're around.
Here I am with all my bridges burned
Just a babe in arms where you're concerned
So lock the doors and call me yours
Cause you took advantage of me.
I have burned all my bridges for you and I am weak when it comes to you. Lock me in and call me yours because you have taken advantage of me.
You took advantage of me
You exploited my emotional weakness.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind