In her biography she stated that on the day she was born, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work as an actress and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents. When she was seven her mother returned and the two traveled around the state, which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools (for a time she also attended schools in Florida, Georgia and Ohio). Later she returned to Brooklyn.
She quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job at 16, dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem (a renowned theatre in which black performers played before white audiences, immortalized in the film - The Cotton Club (1984)). She was in good hands at the club, especially when people such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wings and helped her over the rough spots.
Before long her talent resulted in her playing before packed houses. If she had never made a film, her music career would have been enough to have ensured her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but films were icing on the cake. After she made an appearances on Broadway, Hollywood came calling.
At 21 years of age Lena made her first film, The Duke Is Tops (1938). It would be four more years before she appeared in another, Panama Hattie (1942), playing a singer in a nightclub. By now Lena had signed with MGM but, unfortunately for her, the pictures were shot so that her scenes could be cut out when they were shown in the South, since most theatres in the South refused to show films that portrayed blacks in anything other than subservient roles to whites, and most film studios did not want to take a chance on losing that particular source of revenue. Lena did not want to appear in those kinds of stereotyped roles (and who could blame her?).
In 1943 MGM loaned her to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which did extremely well at the box-office. Her rendition of the title song became a major hit on the musical charts. In 1943 she appeared in Cabin in the Sky (1943), regarded by many as one of the finest performances of her career. She played Georgia Brown opposite Ethel Waters and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in the all-black production. Rumours were rampant that she and Waters just did not get along well, although there was never any mention of the source of the alleged friction. That was not the only feud on that picture, however. Other cast members sniped at one another and it was a wonder the film was made at all. Regardless of the hostilities, the film was released to very good reviews from the ever tough critics. It went a long way in showing the depth of the talent that existed among black performers in Hollywood - especially Lena's.
Lena's musical career flourished, but her film career stagnated. Minor roles in films such as Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944), Words and Music (1948) and Mantan Messes Up (1946) did little to advance her film career, due mainly to the ingrained racist attitudes of the time (even at the height of Lena's musical career, she was often denied rooms at the very hotels in which she performed, because they would not let blacks stay there).
After Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Lena left films to concentrate on music and the stage. She returned in 1969, as Claire Quintana in Death of a Gunfighter (1969). Nine years later she returned to the screen again in the all-black musical The Wiz (1978), where she played Glinda the Good Witch. Although that was her last big-screen appearance, she stayed busy in television, appearing in "A Century of Women" (1994) and That's Entertainment! III (1994).
After leaving Hollywood in the1950's, Lena Horne established herself as one of the première nightclub performers of the post-war era. She headlined at clubs and hotels throughout the US, Canada and Europe, including the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles and the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. In 1957, a live album, entitled Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria (At the Waldorf Astoria / At the Sands), became the largest selling record by a female artist in the history of the RCA-Victor label.
From the late 1950s through the 1960s, Horne was a staple of TV variety shows, appearing multiple times on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, Ed Sullivan, The Dean Martin Show and The Bell Telephone Hour. Other programs included, The Judy Garland Show, The Hollywood Palace and The Andy Williams Show. Besides two television specials for the BBC (later syndicated in the US), Horne starred in her own US television special in 1969, Monsanto Night Presents Lena Horne. In 1970, she co-starred with Harry Belafonte in the hour long "Harry & Lena" for ABC; in 1973, she co-starred with Tony Bennett in "Tony and Lena." Horne and Bennett subsequently toured the US and UK in a show together. A very memorable appearance was in the 1976 program "America Salutes Richard Rodgers," where she sang a lengthy medley of Rodgers songs with Peggy Lee and Vic Damone. Horne also made several appearances on The Flip Wilson Show.
Additionally, Horne played herself on television programs as The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Sanford and Son in the 1970s, as well as a 1985 performance on The Cosby Show and a 1993 appearance on A Different World.
In the summer of 1980, Lena Horne, 63 years old and intent on retiring from show business, embarked on a two month series of benefit concerts sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta. These concerts were represented as Horne's farewell tour, yet her retirement lasted less than a year.
In May 1981, The Nederlander Organization booked Lena Horne for a four week engagement at the newly named Nederlander Theatre (formerly the Trafalgar, the Billy Rose and the National) on West 41st Street in New York City. The show was an instant success and was extended to a full year run, garnering Horne a special Tony award, and two Grammy Awards for the cast recording of her show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. The 333 performance Broadway run closed on Horne's 65 birthday, June 30, 1982. Later that same week, the entire show was performed again and video taped for television broadcast and home video release. The tour began a few days later at Tanglewood (MA) during the 1982 July 4 weekend. "The Lady and Her Music" toured 41 cities in the U.S and Canada through June 17, 1984. It played in London for a month in August and ended its run in Stockholm, Sweden, September 14, 1984.
In 1958, Horne was nominated for a Tony Award for "Best Actress in a Musical" (for her part in the "Calypso" musical Jamaica) In 1981 she received a Special Tony Award for her one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. Despite the show's considerable success (Horne still holds the record for the longest-running solo performance in Broadway history), she did not capitalize on the renewed interest in her career by undertaking many new musical projects. A proposed 1983 joint recording project between Horne and Frank Sinatra (to be produced by Quincy Jones) was ultimately abandoned, and her sole studio recording of the decade was 1988's The Men In My Life, featuring duets with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joe Williams. In 1989, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 1990s found Horne considerably more active in the recording studio - all the more remarkable considering she was approaching her 80th year. Following her 1993 performance at a tribute to the musical legacy of her good friend Billy Strayhorn (Duke Ellington's long-time pianist and arranger), she decided to record an album composed largely of Strayhorn's and Ellington's songs the following year, We'll Be Together Again. To coincide with the release of the album, Horne made what would be her final concert performances at New York's Supper Club and Carnegie Hall. That same year, Horne also lent her vocals to a recording of "Embraceable You" on Sinatra's "Duets II" album. Though the album was largely derided by critics, the Sinatra-Horne pairing was generally regarded as its highlight. In 1995, a "live" album capturing her Supper Club performance (Live At The Supper Club) was released and subsequently won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In 1998, at the age of 81, Horne released another studio album, entitled Being Myself. Thereafter, Horne essentially retired from performing and largely retreated from public view, though she did return to the recording studio in 2000 to contribute vocal tracks on Simon Rattle's Classic Ellington album.
Had it not been for the prevailing racial attitudes during the time when Lena was just starting her career, her success might have been much bigger, and come much sooner. Even taking those factors into account, Lena Horne was one of the most respected, talented and beautiful performers of all time. She lived in New York City until her death in May of 2010.
Napoleon
Lena Horne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bismarck is a herring
Alexander's a crème de cacao mixed with rum
And Herbie Hoover is a vacuum
Columbus is a circle and a day off
Pershing is a square, what a pay-off
Julius Caesar is just a salad on a shelf
Life's a bowl and it's full of cherry pits
Play it big and it throws you for a loop
That's the way with fate, comes today, we're great
Comes tomorrow, we're tomato soup
Napoleon's a pastry
Get this under your brow
What once useta be a roosta'
Is just a dusta' now
Napoleon's a pastry
DuBarry is a lipstick
Pompadour's a hairdo
Good Queen Mary just floats along from pier to pier
Venus De Milo is a pink brassiere
Sir Gladstone is a bag, ain't it shocking?
And the mighty Kaiser, just a stocking
The Czar of Russia is now a jar of caviar
And Cleopatra is a black cigar
Yes, my honey lamb, Swift is just a ham
Lincoln's a tunnel, Coolidge is a dam
Yes, my noble lads, comes today, we're fads
Comes tomorrow, we are subway ads
Homer is just a swat
Get this under your brow
All these bigwig controversial
Are just commercials now
Better get your jug of wine
And loaf of love
Before that final vow
Napoleon's a pastry
Caesar is a salad
Get it while you're able
The lyrics of Lena Horne’s song Napoleon playfully comment on the transience of fame and fortune. Napoleon, Bismarck, Alexander, Julius Caesar, and others were once great figures of history but are now reduced to trivial things. Napoleon, known for his military conquests and empire-building, is now just a pastry. Bismarck, the founder of modern Germany, is now a type of fish. Alexander the Great is now a cocktail. And former US President Herbert Hoover is now a vacuum cleaner. Even great women of history such as DuBarry, Cleopatra, and Good Queen Mary are reduced to lipstick, cigars and leisurely trips on the pier.
The song’s message is that no matter how great one’s achievements, they will eventually fade away, and the mighty will be remembered as the insignificant. This song reflects the changing times of the 1940s, where the world was going through constant changes due to the Second World War.
Line by Line Meaning
Napoleon's a pastry
People who were once powerful are now just ordinary, insignificant things
Bismarck is a herring
Bismarck, once a powerful German chancellor, is now just a small fish
Alexander's a crème de cacao mixed with rum
Alexander the Great, a once great conqueror, is now just an alcoholic drink
And Herbie Hoover is a vacuum
Herbert Hoover, once the President of the United States, is now just a household appliance
Columbus is a circle and a day off
Christopher Columbus, once a great explorer, is now only remembered as a circular calendar date and a national holiday
Pershing is a square, what a pay-off
General John Pershing, once a great military commander, is now just a square on a board game
Julius Caesar is just a salad on a shelf
Julius Caesar, once a powerful Roman emperor, is now just a type of salad
So, little brother, get wise to yourself
You should learn from history and realize that even the most powerful people can become insignificant in time
Life's a bowl and it's full of cherry pits
Life is full of obstacles and challenges
Play it big and it throws you for a loop
Even if you think you are successful, life can still surprise you and throw you off track
That's the way with fate, comes today, we're great
Our fortunes can change at any moment
Comes tomorrow, we're tomato soup
We can go from being on top of the world to being nothing in the blink of an eye
DuBarry is a lipstick
Madame DuBarry, once a powerful mistress of a French king, is now just a shade of lipstick
Pompadour's a hairdo
Madame de Pompadour, once a powerful mistress of a French king, is now just a hairstyle
Good Queen Mary just floats along from pier to pier
Queen Mary, once a powerful monarch, is now just a retired ocean liner used for tourism
Venus De Milo is a pink brassiere
The famous statue of Venus De Milo is now reduced to a bra color
Sir Gladstone is a bag, ain't it shocking?
William Ewart Gladstone, a powerful British Prime Minister, is now just a bag (possibly referring to a brand of bags)
And the mighty Kaiser, just a stocking
Wilhelm II, the former German emperor, is now reduced to a type of stocking
The Czar of Russia is now a jar of caviar
The former Russian tsar is now just associated with a type of luxury food
And Cleopatra is a black cigar
Cleopatra, once an influential queen of Egypt, is now just associated with a type of cigar
Yes, my honey lamb, Swift is just a ham
Jonathan Swift, once a famous writer, is now reduced to a type of meat
Lincoln's a tunnel, Coolidge is a dam
Abraham Lincoln, a former US president, is now commemorated with a tunnel name; Calvin Coolidge, another former president, is commemorated with a dam name
Yes, my noble lads, comes today, we're fads
Our popularity can vanish quickly
Comes tomorrow, we are subway ads
We can go from being idols to being ads in a subway station in no time
Homer is just a swat
Homer, the famous Greek poet, is now just an insect swatter (perhaps referring to a brand name of the product)
All these bigwig controversial
All these once important and powerful people
Are just commercials now
Are now just marketing tools and no longer significant
Better get your jug of wine
You should enjoy life while you can
And loaf of love
And surround yourself with love and happiness
Before that final vow
Before it's too late
Napoleon's a pastry
Once great people can become insignificant
Caesar is a salad
Even the most powerful people can become associated with trivial things
Get it while you're able
Enjoy life and don't take anything for granted
Contributed by Alyssa P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.