Mildred Rinker Bailey (February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a popular… Read Full Bio ↴Mildred Rinker Bailey (February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing".
Some of her best known hits are "It's So Peaceful in the Country", "Trust In Me", "Where Are You", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", "Small Fry", "Please Be Kind", "Darn That Dream", "Rockin' Chair", "Blame It On My Last Affair", and "Says My Heart".

Born Mildred Rinker in Tekoa, Washington, her mother, Josephine, was an enrolled member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and a devout Roman Catholic. Her father, Charles, played fiddle and called square dances. Her mother played piano every evening after supper and taught Mildred to play and sing. Her brothers were the vocalist and composer Al Rinker, and the lyricist Charles Rinker.
[edit]Career

At the age of seventeen, Bailey moved to Seattle and worked as a sheet music demonstrator at Woolworth's. She married and divorced Ted Bailey, keeping his last name because she thought it sounded more American than Rinker.[3] With the help of her second husband, Benny Stafford, she became an established blues and jazz singer on the West Coast. According to Gary Giddins' book Bing Crosby – A Pocketful of Dreams – The Early Years 1903-1940, in 1925 she secured work for her brother, Al Rinker, and his partner Bing Crosby. Giddins further states that Crosby first heard of Louis Armstrong and other Chicago black jazz records from Bailey's own record collection. Crosby helped Bailey in turn by introducing her to Paul Whiteman. She sang with Paul Whiteman's band from 1929 to 1933 (Whiteman had a popular radio program and when Bailey debuted with her version of "Moaning Low" in 1929, public reaction was immediate, although she did not start recording with Whiteman until late 1931).
Her first two records were as uncredited vocalist for an Eddie Lang Orchestra session in 1929 ("What Kind O' Man Is You?", an obscure Hoagy Carmichael song that was only issued in the UK) and a 1930 recording of "I Like To Do Things For You" for Frankie Trumbauer. She was Whiteman's popular female vocalist through 1932 (recording in a smooth crooning style), when she left the band due to salary disagreements. She then recorded a series of records for Brunswick in 1933 (accompanied by The Dorsey Brothers), as well an all-star session with Benny Goodman's studio band in 1934 that featured Coleman Hawkins.
In the mid-1930s, she recorded with her third husband Red Norvo. A dynamic couple, they earned the nicknames "Mr. and Mrs. Swing". During this period (1936–1939) Norvo recorded for Brunswick (with Bailey as primary vocalist) and Bailey recorded her own set of recordings for Vocalion, often with Norvo's band. Some of her recordings instead featured members of Count Basie's band. Despite her divorce from Norvo, she and Red would continue to record together until 1945. Suffering from diabetes and depression (during her adult life Bailey was overweight), she only made a few recordings following World War II.
Mildred Bailey died December 12, 1951, in Poughkeepsie, New York, of heart failure, aged 44, chiefly due to her diabetes. Her ashes were scattered. Red Norvo outlived Bailey by nearly half a century, dying in April 1999, a week after his 91st birthday.

Lover Come Back to Me
Mildred Bailey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You went away
I let you
We broke the ties that bind
I wanted to forget you
And leave the past behind
Still, the magic of the night I met you
Seems to stay forever in my mind

The sky was blue
And high above
The moon was new
And so was love
This eager heart of mine was singing
Lover where can you be

You came at last
Love had its day
That day is past
You've gone away
This aching heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing

You used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely

The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing

You used to do
I grow lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely

The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here

This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me

Overall Meaning

The song "Lover Come Back to Me" is a melancholic tune that speaks about the pain of losing a lover and the feeling of being left alone. The lyrics convey the idea that the singer and the lover had broken ties and she initially tried to forget about him and move on. Still, the memories of the night they first met continue to haunt her, and she realizes that her heart is still aching for him. The lyrics are somewhat nostalgic, and the singer is searching for the magic they shared during happier times.

The song's opening stanza talks about the singer's inability to let go of her past lover even though she broke the ties that once bound them together. She reminisces about the night they first met, and the lyric "Still, the magic of the night I met you seems to stay forever in my mind" reveals how significant this night was to her.

The second stanza describes the night they met and how the singer's heart was singing with eagerness, wondering where her lover could be. The upbeat melody and the repeated phrase "Lover come back to me" reinforce the desire for the singer's lover to return.

The final stanza expresses the singer's loneliness and how she feels that every road she walks along, she walks along with her former lover. The use of imagery with the description of the blue sky, cold night, and the new moon creates an atmosphere of longing and melancholy. The lyric "But love is old" signifies that their love was once strong and enduring, but now it has faded, and she waits for her lover to come back.

Line by Line Meaning

You went away
You left me

I let you
I did not stop you from leaving me

We broke the ties that bind
We ended our relationship

I wanted to forget you
I tried to get over you

And leave the past behind
And move on from our past

Still, the magic of the night I met you
However, the memory of the night we met is still vivid in my mind

Seems to stay forever in my mind
And it seems like it will always be there

The sky was blue
The sky was a bright, clear blue

And high above
Up in the sky

The moon was new
The moon was a new crescent shape

And so was love
And our love was new and fresh

This eager heart of mine was singing
My hopeful heart was filled with joy

Lover where can you be
Wondering where my lover is

You came at last
Finally, you showed up

Love had its day
Our love was strong for a while

That day is past
But that time is over now

You've gone away
And you've left me again

This aching heart of mine is singing
My heart is hurting and I can't stop thinking of you

Lover come back to me
I want you to come back to me

When I remember every little thing
Whenever I think of all the small details about us

You used to do
The things you used to say and actions you would take

I'm so lonely
I feel so isolated

Every road I walk along
Every path I take

I walk along with you
It feels like you're still with me

No wonder I am lonely
It's no wonder I feel this way

The night is cold
It's a chilly evening

But love is old
But our love has been around for a long time

And while I'm waiting here
And while I sit and wait

This heart of mine is singing
My heart is still yearning for you

Lover come back to me
Please come back to me

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DistroKid, TuneCore Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS