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.
I Wants to Stay Here
Oscar Peterson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't let him take me
Don't let him handle me
And drive me mad
If you can keep me
I want to stay with you forever
And I'll be glad
I loves you, Porgy
Don't let him take me
Don't let him handle me
With his hot hands
If you can keep me
I want to stay with you forever
I like my man
Someday I know he's coming
Back to call me
He's gonna handle me
And hold me so
It's going to be like dying, Porgy
When he calls me
But when he comes, I know
I'll have to go
The lyrics to "I Wants to Stay Here" by Oscar Peterson are from a woman named Bess who is pleading with Porgy not to let her abusive ex-lover Crown take her away from him. Bess expresses her love for Porgy and her desire to stay with him forever. She begs him not to let Crown handle her with his "hot hands" and to protect her from his violent tendencies. Bess tells Porgy that she knows Crown will come back for her, and although it will feel like dying, she will have to go with him when it happens.
The lyrics reveal the complex emotions and struggles faced by women in abusive relationships. Bess loves Porgy, but is also afraid of what will happen if she leaves him. Her fear of Crown's violence and her desperation to be loved and protected make her torn between her two lovers. Through the song, she expresses her desire to stay with Porgy as a way of finding safety and security. However, she knows that she cannot escape from the violence forever and will eventually have to face it.
Overall, the lyrics of "I Wants to Stay Here" are a powerful and emotional commentary on the challenges faced by women who are trapped in abusive relationships. They provide an insight into the complex emotions and struggles that women face when trying to navigate their way out of dangerous situations.
Line by Line Meaning
I loves you, Porgy
I love you, Porgy
Don't let him take me
Don't let him take me away from you
Don't let him handle me
Don't let him touch me or treat me badly
And drive me mad
And make me go crazy
If you can keep me
If you can keep me close to you
I want to stay with you forever
I want to be with you for all time
I'll be glad
I'll be happy
With his hot hands
With his passionate touch
I like my man
I like the way you treat me, Porgy
Someday I know he's coming
I know someday my ex will return
Back to call me
To take me away from you
He's gonna handle me
He will touch me and treat me poorly
And hold me so
And hold me close
It's going to be like dying, Porgy
It will feel like dying to leave you, Porgy
When he calls me
When my ex calls me back to him
But when he comes, I know
But when he returns, I know
I'll have to go
I will have to leave you, Porgy
Writer(s): George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Du Bose Heyward
Contributed by Nora F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
William Harper
Exhiliratingly beautiful...touches me to the core. Could listen to this forever.
Richard Wallace
One of the top 10 greatest songs ever written!
Carolyn Rembert
I thank God I can hear Oscar Peterson play anything - but I love this rendition of I Love You Porgy ----- so so beautiful what a TALENT
EdGomide
That's a beautiful song! A enjoy when Oscar plays this way, soft and gentle. Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans are my favorires! Thanx!!
Ignacio Suárez
Por gente como él fue por lo que decidí estudiar música.
Anne Dwyer
This might be OP's most beautiful ballad...it's breathtaking! 💕
Matthew Zarris
Hard to find a ballad more enthralling...
Judy Glasel
Anne Dwyer Another very beautiful ballad that he plays and wrote is
“When Summer Comes”. It is on here also.
Steven Ramos
You can't play any cleaner than this. I'm captured by his sound. I was looking into George Gershwin, and this is where I ended up unlikely checking for a good quality to his writing. Way to nail it Oscar. I'm now a fan.
Erick Borling
Not the clean-ness, is it? I think it's the touch. When I think of 'clean' I think of the sanitary sounding stuff the jazzers are doing these days. Flashy, no 'wrong notes,' but... too precious, too frothy, too unsubtle...