Hampton was born on 20th April 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky, but moved to Chicago as a child, where he began his career as a drummer. He relocated to Los Angeles to play drums in Les Hite's band. They soon became the house band for Frank Sebastian's New Cotton Club, a popular L.A. jazz club.
During a 1930 recording date in the NBC studios in L.A., Louis Armstrong discovered a vibraphone. He asked Hampton if he could play it. Hampton, who knew how to play the xylophone, tried it and they agreed to record a few records with Hamp on vibes. Hampton is credited with popularizing the vibraphone as a jazz instrument.
In the mid-1930s, the Benny Goodman Orchestra came to Los Angeles to play the Palomar Ballroom. John Hammond brought Goodman to see Hampton play. Goodman asked Hampton to move to New York City and join Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Gene Krupa who'd already formed a Benny Goodman Trio within the large band - to expand into the Benny Goodman Quartet. The Trio and Quartet were among the first racially integrated bands to record and play before wide audiences; they were just as well received at Goodman's famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert as was the full Goodman band.
While Hampton worked for Goodman in New York, he recorded with several different small groups known as the Lionel Hampton Orchestra as well as assorted small groups within the Goodman band. In the early 40s he left the Goodman organization to form his own touring band.
Hampton's band fostered the talents of Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon, Ernie Royal, Jack McVea, Charlie Mingus, Monk Montgomery, Wes Montgomery, Quincy Jones, Benny Golson, Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, Clifford Brown, Dinah Washington, Betty Carter, Joe Williams, Arnett Cobb, Earl Bostic, and John Colianni among many others.
Hampton's recording of "Flying Home" (1939) with the famous honking tenor sax solo by Jacquet, later refined and expanded by Cobb (1946), is considered by some to be the first rock and roll record. He was known for his tireless energy and his skill on the vibes, drums, and lightning speed two-fingered piano. The bars on the vibraphone are laid out like the piano; Hampton played both instruments the same way.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, Hampton and his band started playing at the University of Idaho's jazz concert, which in 1985 was renamed the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. In 1987 the University's music college was renamed the Lionel Hampton School of Music, the first and only university music college to be named after a jazz musician.
Lionel Hampton died of cardiac arrest at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York on 31st August 2002. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.
These Foolish Things
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh! Will you never set me free?
The ties that bound us
Are still around us
There's no escape that I can see
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fair ground's painted swings
These foolish things remind me of you
You came you saw you conquer'd me
When you did that to me
I knew somehow this had to be
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
First daffodils and long excited cables
And candle lights on little corner tables
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The beauty that is Spring's
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
The song "These Foolish Things" is about a lover reminiscing on a past relationship and how even the smallest things trigger memories of their former partner. The lyrics express the strong emotions and longing of the singer for their lost love. The opening lines "Oh! Will you never let me be? Oh! Will you never set me free?" convey the pain and frustration of being unable to move on from the past relationship. The singer feels trapped by the ties that still bind them to their former lover.
The song continues with a list of different things that remind the singer of their lost love, such as a cigarette with lipstick traces, an airline ticket to romantic places, and the sounds of a tinkling piano or fairground swings. The lyrics also mention the winds of March, the park at evening, and the scent of gardenia perfume. Each of these things brings up strong memories and emotions for the singer.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses the poignancy of these small details that not only remind them of their lost love, but also make them feel their presence near. The song concludes with the words "Oh, how the ghost of you clings! These foolish things remind me of you." The singer cannot escape the memories of their past relationship, but finds comfort in the reminders of their love.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh! Will you never let me be?
Will you never allow me to be free from the ties that bind us?
Oh! Will you never set me free?
Will you never release me from the ties that bind us?
The ties that bound us
The things that connected us together as a couple
Are still around us
We are still connected by those things
There's no escape that I can see
I cannot see a way for us to break free from those ties
And still those little things remain
There are still small reminders of our past relationship
That bring me happiness or pain
Those reminders sometimes bring me happiness and sometimes bring me pain
A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces
A cigarette that has lipstick marks on it
An airline ticket to romantic places
A ticket for a trip to a romantic destination
And still my heart has wings
I still feel light and free in my heart
These foolish things remind me of you
These small reminders of our past relationship make me think of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
The sound of a piano playing in a nearby apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
The words I said to express my feelings for you, even though I had difficulty finding the right words
A fair ground's painted swings
The swings at a carnival
You came you saw you conquer'd me
You came into my life, you saw who I was, and you conquered my heart
When you did that to me
When you won my heart
I knew somehow this had to be
I had a feeling that we were meant to be together
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
The spring breeze that makes me feel alive and happy
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
A phone call that no one answers
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The park at night when the bell has rung indicating that it is closing
The 'Ile de France' with all the gulls around it
The sight of the French ocean liner surrounded by seagulls
The beauty that is Spring's
The beauty of springtime
How strange how sweet to find you still
It is strange and sweet to be reminded of you
These things are dear to me
These memories and reminders of our past are important and valuable to me
They seem to bring you near to me
They make me feel as if you are close to me again
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
The sound of trains passing through deserted stations late at night
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Stockings left behind after a night of dancing
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
The scent of gardenia perfume on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
The sight of cheap wild strawberries for sale
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The sight of Garbo's smile and the scent of roses in the air
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The sound of waiters whistling as the bar closes for the night
The song that Crosby sings
A song sung by Bing Crosby
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
The smell of burning leaves and the sound of steamships
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Two people in love who walk as if they are in a dream
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
The memory of you still haunts me
These foolish things remind me of you
All of these insignificant things remind me of you
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOB STANLEY, PETER STEWART WIGGS, SARAH CRACKNELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind