'Round Midnight
Miles Davis & John Coltrane Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

It begins to tell,
'round midnight, midnight.
I do pretty well, till after sundown,
Suppertime I'm feelin' sad;
But it really gets bad,
'round midnight.

Memories always start 'round midnight
Haven't got the heart to stand those memories,
When my heart is still with you,
And ol' midnight knows it, too.
When a quarrel we had needs mending,
Does it mean that our love is ending.
Darlin' I need you, lately I find
You're out of my heart,
And I'm out of my mind.

Let our hearts take wings'
'round midnight, midnight
Let the angels sing,
for your returning.
Till our love is safe and sound.
And old midnight comes around.
Feelin' sad,




really gets bad
Round, Round, Round Midnight

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Miles Davis Quintet's 'Round Midnight convey feelings of sadness, longing, heartbreak and nostalgia. It begins with the singer acknowledging how he manages to feel alright until after sundown, as memories begin to swarm back and start to overpower him. But the memories are most potent around midnight, reminding him of a love that has gone astray, leaving him sad and out of his mind. The singer reflects on how the memories have caused him to feel lost and confused because he cannot get the person out of his heart. The lyrics also express the idea of hope and the desire for the return of a lost love, as he implores the angels to sing for the return of his loved one and for their love to be restored.


Line by Line Meaning

It begins to tell,
The story starts.


'round midnight, midnight.
Around midnight when it's dark.


I do pretty well, till after sundown,
I'm doing okay until the sun goes down.


Suppertime I'm feelin' sad;
When it's time for supper, I become sad.


But it really gets bad,
But it gets even worse.


'round midnight.
At midnight when it's completely dark.


Memories always start 'round midnight
Memories come back when it's late.


Haven't got the heart to stand those memories,
I can't handle those memories anymore.


When my heart is still with you,
When my heart is still holding onto you.


And ol' midnight knows it, too.
And even at midnight, it's still there.


When a quarrel we had needs mending,
When we need to fix the arguments we had.


Does it mean that our love is ending.
Does it mean that our love is coming to an end?


Darlin' I need you, lately I find
My darling, I need you, lately I've realized


You're out of my heart,
That you're no longer in my heart,


And I'm out of my mind.
And I'm going crazy without you.


Let our hearts take wings'
Let our hearts soar high and free,


'round midnight, midnight
Around midnight, when it's dark.


Let the angels sing,
Let the angels sing.


for your returning.
When you come back to me.


Till our love is safe and sound.
Until our love is stable and steady.


And old midnight comes around.
Even when it's dark outside.


Feelin' sad,
Feeling down,


really gets bad
gets even worse


Round, Round, Round Midnight
Around and around, it goes.




Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: COOTIE WILLIAMS, BERNARD D. HANIGHEN, THEOLONIOUS S. MONK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

donj cohn

Miles tells a story in his melody like no other jazz musician. It's in the sounds as much as the silences. Coltrane's solo is unmatched in the same way. "Turns" of phrase, pauses and everything is crystal clear, intimately his and yours. I've listened to this track for about 63 years, and I never tire of it.

33uptempo

The fact that younger people love this music as much as those of us who grew up with it gives me hope for the future.  The great stuff never dies......

Egmont Labadie

Whom can't it directly reach the soul ?

Kristian Eugene

a trick : you can watch movies at flixzone. I've been using it for watching a lot of movies lately.

Ahmad Sebastian

@Kristian Eugene definitely, I've been using flixzone for since december myself :D

Peggy Wade

It will live on forever because it is a beautiful world of art by the greatest of all time soothing and kool jazz artist of all times thanks for asking

Smoaf

16 and I love jazz : )

BLACK KNIGHT

THE BEST RENDITION OF THIS FAMOUS JAZZ STANDARD. COLTRANE'S SOLO IS INCOMPARABLE.

Shihâbôddîn Coltrane

Amen

jjs777fzr

This is one of the best pieces I've ever heard.  

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