note the spelling Willson ... www.last.fm/music/Meredith+Willson
Born Robert Meredith Reiniger in Mason City, Iowa, Willson attended Damrosch Institute (later The Juilliard School) in New York City. A flute and piccolo player, Willson was a member of John Philip Sousa's band (1921 - 1923) and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924 - 1929). Willson then moved to San Francisco, California as the concert director for KFRC, and then as a musical director for the NBC radio network in Hollywood.
His work for films included the music for Charlie Chaplin's 1940 film The Great Dictator, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. During World War II, he worked for the United States' Armed Forces Radio Service. His work with the AFRS teamed him with George Burns, Gracie Allen and Bill Goodwin. (He would work with all three as the bandleader, and a regular character, on the Burns and Allen radio program.) Returning to network radio after WWII, he created the Talking People, a choral group which spoke in unison while delivering radio commercials.
Willson's most famous work, The Music Man, premiered on Broadway in 1957 and was adapted twice for film (in 1962 and 2003). He referred to the play as "an Iowan's attempt to pay tribute to his home state." It took Willson some eight years and thirty revisions to complete the musical, for which he wrote more than forty songs. The cast recording of The Music Man won the very first Grammy award ever issued.
His second musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, ran on Broadway for 532 performances from 1960 to 1962 and was made into a 1964 motion picture starring Debbie Reynolds.
His third (and apparently last) musical was an adaptation of the film Miracle On 34th Street, called Here's Love! (1963).
His Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, A Symphony Of San Francisco, and Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Missions Of California, were recorded in 1999 by William T. Stromberg conducting the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.
Willson penned a number of very well-known songs, such as "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary Indiana," "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas," and even "Till There Was You," which was a hit for the Beatles in 1963. He also wrote the University of Iowa's fight song.
In general, it was recognized that Willson wrote surprisingly well-crafted, complex, and subtle music that classical music fans could appreciate, with intricate and sometimes startling counterpoint, well-crafted melody, and subtle orchestration, all while still appealing to mass audiences.
Willson and his wife lived for years in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, California. In the 1960s, Willson was fondly remembered by friends and neighbors as a warm and gregarious host who loved nothing more than to play the piano and sing at numerous parties. Willson often gave out autographed copies of his record album, Meredith Willson Sings Songs from The Music Man.
Till There Was You
Meredith Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you
There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
And there was music
And there were wonderful roses
They tell me
In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew
There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you
The song "Till There Was You" is a love song that talks about how everything in life was incomplete and unnoticed until the singer finds love. The opening lines of the song convey that there were bells ringing on the hill, but the singer had never heard them until he/she met their love interest. The metaphorical use of the bells here represents happiness and joy, which the singer had never experienced until he/she found love.
Similarly, the singer mentions the birds in the sky that he/she had never seen "winging" until he/she found love. The birds represent freedom and happiness that the singer had never experienced. However, the love that the singer has found has made everything in life beautiful, and he/she now wants to experience everything fully.
The song also mentions music and roses, which are symbolic of beauty and the wonders of nature. The singer never saw all these beautiful things until he/she found love. The use of the phrase "sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and dew" adds to the romantic tone of the song.
In the final lines, the singer mentions that love was all around them, but they never heard it until they found their significant other. Love was always present in the world, but they failed to see it until they found their love. The song highlights the importance of having love in life and how it can make the world a beautiful place.
Line by Line Meaning
There were bells on the hill
Although there were bells on the hill, I never took notice of their presence.
But I never heard them ringing
In spite of the bells being there, I never perceived their sound or melody.
No, I never heard them at all
I reiterate that I was oblivious to the ringing of the bells.
Till there was you
It wasn't until you appeared in my life that I began to notice and appreciate the sounds around me.
There were birds in the sky
Even though birds flew in the sky above, I never beheld or recognized them.
But I never saw them winging
Unfortunately, I was unaware of the birds' graceful, soaring movements.
No, I never saw them at all
I must emphasize that the birds' wondrous display went unnoticed by me.
And there was music
In addition, there was a harmonious arrangement of sounds and rhythm that filled the air.
And there were wonderful roses
The locale was also adorned with remarkable blooms of various colors and forms.
They tell me
I have been informed by others that there existed these flowers in existence.
In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew
The flowers were situated in areas of serene beauty, lush with sweet-smelling flora and dewdrops in the early hours.
There was love all around
Despite my ignorance of the world's beauty, there were signs of love in abundance.
But I never heard it singing
It is with remorse that I admit I hadn't heard this love being expressed through melody, singing or otherwise.
No, I never heard it at all
In fact, the love completely eluded my senses.
Till there was you
It was until you entered my life that my sensory perception was finally awakened to the realization of all the love around me.
Contributed by Max M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@cathm8523
Shirley Jones and Julie Andrews simply had the 2 purest voices of that time!
@freeguy77
Petula Clark has to be in that mix. Then you also have another Shirley: Shirley Bassey.
@guysalzmann9302
Negative. Barbara Cook- the original Broadway production and family friend. Listen for yourself-
@cathm8523
@@guysalzmann9302 My mistake, you are correct - her voice was stunning as well!
@guysalzmann9302
@@cathm8523 Thx. acknowledge. She always gets left out because didn’t have biggest stage name. That’s why Jones got the part in the movie instead. But as a Kennedy Ctr. honoree Barb got the recognition she deserved.
@user-kf8wb2cq4f
Barbara COOK--the Broadway Original--had a truly glorious voice. So did Shirley. Some people have blessed talent.
@johnsarab4500
The Beatles adding Spanish guitar to the song was a master stoke!
@mikevados9459
The range of notes that this lady can hit... it blows me away. Shirley Jones, God has blessed you with AWESOME PIPES.
@freeguy77
RockMe, ditto from me! She was more than her character on The Partridge Family. Now, 82, and still funny and talented. Ditto for Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch mom), who are lifelong friends, born just a month apart.
@dianavictoriaaljadeff5302
Sadly Florence Henderson died in october 2016