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.
When Your Lover Has Gone
Oscar Peterson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That comes with each new love affair
The dreams that we cherish so often might perish
And leaves you with castles in air
When you're alone, who cares for starlit skies?
When you're alone, the magic moonlight dies
At break of dawn there is no sunrise
What lonely hours the evening shadows bring
What lonely hours with memories lingering
Like faded flowers, life can't mean anything
When your lover has gone
The lyrics of "When Your Lover Has Gone" reflect the pain and loneliness that one experiences after a failed relationship. The opening lines suggest that despite our planning and dreaming about love, it ultimately fails to materialize, leaving us with nothing but disappointment. The subsequent lines illustrate this beautifully by using imagery of starlit skies and magic moonlight, which lose their allure when we're alone. It shows how a failed relationship and the absence of a lover can leave us with a sense of emptiness and despair.
The chorus is even more poignant, with the lines "At break of dawn there is no sunrise, When your lover has gone," denoting the absence of hope and positivity in the singer's life. The final verse emphasizes the lingering hurt and pain of a failed relationship, using the metaphor of faded flowers to describe how life loses its beauty and meaning when one is left alone without their lover. The lyrics are beautifully written and effectively capture the sorrow and melancholy that comes with losing a lover.
Line by Line Meaning
What good is the scheming, the planning and dreaming
That comes with each new love affair
What's the point in all the excitement and hopes that come with starting a new relationship.
The dreams that we cherish so often might perish
And leaves you with castles in air
Often, our dreams of a perfect relationship don't come true, leaving us with nothing but empty hopes and fantasies.
When you're alone, who cares for starlit skies?
When you're alone, the magic moonlight dies
At break of dawn there is no sunrise
When your lover has gone
When we're without our loved one, even the beauty of the night sky and moon seem meaningless, and the beginning of a new day brings no hope or excitement.
What lonely hours the evening shadows bring
What lonely hours with memories lingering
Like faded flowers, life can't mean anything
When your lover has gone
Being alone can be a sad and lonely experience, with memories of lost love that stick around like the shadows of the evening. Life seems bleak and unimportant when we're without our lover.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EINAR AARON SWAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@carlyryan4439
Imagine when a man and a woman are dancing to the music called "When Your Lover Has Gone" by Oscar Peterson and Ben Webster at the ball. She was dancing in his arms and he hold her so close, they gaze at each other's eyes as the music carries on playing. Splendid piece of music! Excellent storytelling all the way through!
@addisondebter9468
So I have STRONG plans to play All Too Soon as my future wedding dance song. But damn, this one is hitting so good too! If Ben Webster wasn’t my favorite before, shoot, he definitely is now!!
@DEXTERGORDONful
Nobody could play this like Ben, tone, rhythm, pace it's all there, masterful performance, and great support from Oscar Peterson in a very economic way! A true masterpiece, as it the entire album by the way
@cachockey
Oscar Peterson - piano
Ben Webster - tenor saxophone
Ray Brown - double bass
Ed Thigpen - drums
1959
@Stan00075
So Smoooth !
@deniswilson4549
Unique style. Very difficult if not impossible to reproduce his style
@carlyryan4439
This type of music will be perfect for film noir set in the late 1930's to the early 1950's