Read Full Bio ↴Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Peterson began learning trumpet and piano from his father at the age of five, but by the age of seven, after a bout of tuberculosis, he concentrated on the piano. Some of the artists who influenced Peterson during the early years were Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson, and the legendary Art Tatum, to whom many have tried to compare Peterson in later years. In fact, one of his first exposures to the musical talents of Art Tatum came early in his teen years when his father played an Art Tatum record to him and Peterson was so intimidated by what he heard that he didn't touch the piano for over a week.
He soon developed a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive jazz pianist, and became a regular on Canadian radio. His United States introduction was at Carnegie Hall, New York City in 1949 by Norman Granz; owing to union restrictions his appearance could not be billed.
Some of his musical associates have included Lester Young, Ray Brown, Ben Webster, Herb Ellis, Ed Thigpen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Armstrong, Stéphane Grappelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Count Basie, and Stan Getz. An important step in his career was joining impresario Norman Granz's labels (especially Verve records) and Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic package, with which he was able to play with the major jazz artists of the time. Granz was also his manager for most of Peterson's career. Some cognoscenti assert that Peterson's best recordings were made for the MPS label in the late 'sixties and early 'seventies. For some years subsequently he recorded for Granz's Pablo Records after the label was founded in 1973 and in more recent years for the Telarc label.
In 1993, Peterson suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. However he overcame this setback and went back to touring, recording, and composing on a limited basis. In 1997 he received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award. He died on December 24th, 2007 of kidney failure.
All of Me
Oscar Peterson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You taught me how to care
Am I to be just the remnant of a one-sided love affair?
All you took, I gladly gave
There's nothing left for me to save
All of me why not take all of me
Can't you see I'm no good without you
Take my arms I'll never use them
Your good bye left me with eyes that cry
How can I go on dear without you
You took the part that once was my heart
So why not take all of me
In Oscar Peterson Trio's song All of Me, the lyrics speak of a love that has been completely given to another person, but in return, only received a one-sided relationship. The opening lines, "You took my kisses and you took my love, you taught me how to care" illustrate how one person had given everything they had to the other; they had trusted them completely and had let down their guard. However, the following sentence "Am I to be just the remnant of a one-sided love affair?" shows how the relationship was not mutual; only one person was invested in it, and the other person had taken everything and left nothing in return. The lyricist is essentially stating that they have already given everything they can, and there is nothing left for them to save.
In the chorus, the lyrics "All of me, why not take all of me? Can't you see I'm no good without you..." serve as a plea to the other person not to abandon them. The singer has already lost everything, and without the other person, they are incomplete. The lines "Take my lips, I want to lose them, take my arms, I'll never use them," are symbolic of how the person doesn't want anyone or anything else in their life if they can't have the one they loved. The lyric "You took the part that once was my heart, so why not take all of me?" carries the message that the entire essence of the person belongs to the one they love, so why not take every part of them?
Line by Line Meaning
You took my kisses and you took my love
You accepted the affection I gave you.
You taught me how to care
You instructed me on how to feel for someone.
Am I to be just the remnant of a one-sided love affair?
Do I have only a broken heart from loving you by myself?
All you took, I gladly gave
I willingly gave everything you asked for.
There's nothing left for me to save
I cannot save anything from the relationship anymore.
All of me why not take all of me
Why don't you take my whole being?
Can't you see I'm no good without you
I cannot survive without you.
Take my lips I want to lose them
I'm willing to lose the memory of our love by giving up our kisses.
Take my arms I'll never use them
My arms would be useless without you holding me.
Your good bye left me with eyes that cry
I'm crying because of the sadness from you saying goodbye.
How can I go on dear without you
I cannot imagine living without you.
You took the part that once was my heart
You have taken the most essential part of me that was my heart.
So why not take all of me
So, why don't you take everything else?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Round Hill Music Big Loud Songs, MARLONG MUSIC CORP., BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Renato Dantas
Vim pelo Felipe Scagliusi. Realmente uma ótima música.
Life is a gift
Eu tb!
Enemy Standu
O msm comigo
vincente vangogh
4
henriqued2012 DF
Eu também! Mas já curtia muito o Oscar Peterson e sua fantástica mão esquerda!
Victor
Eu também.
Pianist 오동한 Ohdonghan
I was Oscar's a fan.
And I am a fan still now.
He is a hero in my mind ~~~
Blue Ginger
he is
Tian Xing
Sooooo good, speechless.
Catedraldeleon
Awesome music :)! Great talent :)!