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.
now
Lena Horne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It's the only thing
That there's just too little of
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love,
No not just for some
Lord, we don't need
Another mountain,
There are mountains
And hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans
And rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last
Till the end of time.
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It's the only thing
That there's just too little of
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some
But for everyone.
Lord, we don't need
Another meadow
There are cornfields
And wheat fields enough to grow
There are sunbeams
And moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, lord,
If you want to know.
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It's the only thing
That there's just too little of
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some
But for everyone.
No, not just for some,
Oh, but just for everyone.
The song "What The World Needs Now Is Love" by Lena Horne is a call for universal love and unity. The repetitious use of the phrase "Is love, sweet love" reinforces the message of the song. Lena Horne sings about the need for love in the world, as there is too little of it. She is implying that the only solution to the world's problems is love.
The second verse of the song illustrates how there are already plenty of mountains, oceans, and hillsides in the world. These elements represent the difficulties and struggles that people go through. Horne suggests that instead of creating more literal and figurative mountains in the world, we should focus on treating each other with love and compassion. She argues that there is enough for everyone to be happy and fulfilled, it is just up to individuals to be kind and generous to one another.
"What The World Needs Now Is Love" is a timeless classic and a testament to the power of music to inspire positive change. It remains relevant today, as it asserts the importance of universal love and acceptance.
Line by Line Meaning
What the world needs now
The current situation and global condition of the world demand that we take a deep look at ourselves and our surroundings.
What the world needs now
We need to understand the need of the hour and act accordingly.
Is love, sweet love
Love is the only thing that makes this world a better place.
It's the only thing
Love is the only solution available to bring the world together.
That there's just too little of
There's not enough love to spread around to counteract the negativity that exists.
What the world needs now
The current situation and global condition of the world demand that we take a deep look at ourselves and our surroundings.
Is love, sweet love
Love is the only thing that makes this world a better place.
No not just for some
Love's scope should not be limited to only specific communities, genders, or ethnicities.
But for everyone.
Everyone deserves to feel the love and warmth that comes from it.
Lord, we don't need
We have enough.
Another mountain,
There are plenty of challenges in life that people tackle regularly.
There are mountains
Challenges and obstacles are already present in our lives.
And hillsides enough to climb
People are always pushing themselves for better outcomes.
There are oceans
The world is vast and there's much to explore.
And rivers enough to cross,
Life is packed with hurdles that we must cross to get ahead.
Enough to last
These struggles and hardships are sufficient in number.
Till the end of time.
Hardships will continue to be present in life, even as time passes.
What the world needs now
The current situation and global condition of the world demand that we take a deep look at ourselves and our surroundings.
Is love, sweet love
Love is the only thing that makes this world a better place.
It's the only thing
Love is the only solution available to bring the world together.
That there's just too little of
There's not enough love to spread around to counteract the negativity that exists.
What the world needs now
The current situation and global condition of the world demand that we take a deep look at ourselves and our surroundings.
Is love, sweet love
Love is the only thing that makes this world a better place.
No, not just for some
Love's scope should not be limited to only specific communities, genders, or ethnicities.
But for everyone.
Everyone deserves to feel the love and warmth that comes from it.
Lord, we don't need
We have enough.
Another meadow
We don't need more land or territory.
There are cornfields
There's plenty of food for everyone.
And wheat fields enough to grow
The crop production is enough for fulfilling the food requirements.
There are sunbeams
The world's energy needs are met by the sun.
And moonbeams enough to shine
Even at night, we have enough light available to us.
Oh listen, lord,
Please hear us out.
If you want to know.
If you want to know what we need most.
No, not just for some,
Love should not be distributed selectively to specific communities.
Oh, but just for everyone.
Love should be spread throughout the entire world.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Hal David, Burt Bacharach
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
robert44861
LENA HORNE'S "Now" should be revived and remembered just as "Strange Fruit" is being revived because it is so timely.
mitzigordon
She was very brave and valiant to have done such a revolutionary song in that era. for this I love and applaud her. She is my hero!
carolinalibra
This song was released as a single in 1963 and charted on the Billboard and Cashbox charts in November. The single was number 449 on the 20th Century label.
Spirit Angelfish
A masterpiece.
ThePico1950
I am so happy to find this recording. I just heard it yesterday, along with an interview with Lena done, I think in the 70's...What a fine woman she was! I think I was listening to WBAI.
Jarvis Moorehead
Stop the madness! N O W ! Thank you, "Angel Lena!"
HCHxxiv
Magnificent!
DPL Productions
Mad song. Simone Troy made this song famous again performing it many time in Sydney. Cynthia Randall closed Jules Night Club performing this song also.
forestsoceansmusic
My older sister had this single ("Silent Spring" was the B-side) in the early 1960s (no later than 1963). This is my favourite Lena Horne recording, and one of my all-time favourite protest songs. In researching this I found that the brilliantly tasty pianist was her (white) husband (forget his name now). They had to marry overseas because the the U.S. would not conduct "interracial" marriages at that time (definitely post-W.W.II). Many under-50's may not realise that U.S. had apartheid B4.
Jonathan Ramlow
For some strange reason my mother and I discovered a 45 rpm recording of this tune inside a box of potato chips. The B side was "Silent Spring", so I think this was the not-for-sale 1963 promo release from 20th Century Fox records. "NOW!" was sort of controversial, but both songs were released on her album "Here's Lena NOW!" We wondered if someone at Frito-Lay might have been engaging in a little social subversion, one box of chips at a time. That, or maybe Fox Records was testing a new marketing strategy.