Desmond was bor… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Desmond (1924-1977) was a U.S jazz saxophonist.
Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California on 25th November 1924. He came to prominence with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which lasted from 1951 until 1967. Desmond wrote their biggest hit, "Take Five".
Desmond's alto saxophone tone and technique owed nothing to the great alto player of the time, Charlie Parker; instead his was a clear, light, floating sound and highly melodic playing style. Much of the success of the classic Brubeck quartet was due to the superposition of his fragile, airy sound over Brubeck's sometimes relatively heavy, polytonal piano work.
Desmond died on 30th May 1977.
Paul Desmond is widely recognized for his genius as a melodic improviser and as the benchmark of cool jazz sax players. His warm, elegant tone was one that he admittedly tried to make sound like a dry martini. He and Art Pepper were virtually the only alto players of their generation not directly influenced by Charlie Parker. Desmond was influenced by Lester Young, but took it further, into melodic and harmonic worlds never before traveled by reedmen -- especially in the upper registers. Desmond is best known for his years with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959-1967) and his infamous composition "Take Five." He met Brubeck in the late '40s and played with his Octet. The Quartet formed toward the end of 1950 and took final shape with Eugene Wright and Joe Morello a few years later. Jazz at Oberlin and Take Five were considered essential purchases by college students of the era, but Jazz Impressions of Japan was its most innovative recording. Desmond played his loping, slow, ordered, and intricate solos in direct contrast to the pianist's obsession with large chords, creating a myriad of textures for melodic and rhythmic counterpoint unlike any heard in jazz. His witty quotations from musicals, classical pieces, and folk songs were also a watermark of his artistry. When the Quartet split in 1967, Desmond began an intermittent yet satisfying recording career. It included dates with Gerry Mulligan for Verve, various sessions with Jim Hall, and a concert with the the Modern Jazz Quartet. He played his last gigs with the Brubeck Quartet at reunions before dying of lung cancer. Desmond's recordings for RCA have gotten box-set treatment and Mosaic issued one of the complete sessions with Hall. There are also reissues from A&M and CTI, though recordings on Artist House and Finesse remain regrettably out of print. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else
Paul Desmond Lyrics
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And all my daydreams have gone astray
I think about the one and only
Who's bound to find me some golden day
The one I love is coming along some day
And I'll have none except the one I love
He/She may be near or ever so far away
And though our meeting is left to chance
Until our meeting
I still will have my dream romance
And through the night I pray to the moon above
To please be kind and find the one I love
"The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" as written by Gus/jurmann Kahn
The lyrics to Paul Desmond's song, "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else," express feelings of loneliness and daydreaming about a future moment when the singer's love will come into their life. The song starts with the singer expressing the long days and lonely nights, where all their daydreams have gone astray. In this moment of desolation, the lyrics indicate that the singer thinks of their one true love and the hope that the person will find them someday.
The chorus of the song reiterates this hope, with the singer singing that they will have none but the one they love, even if that person is near or far away. The final verse speaks to the uncertainty of life and how the meeting with the one they love is left to chance, but until that meeting, the singer will continue to dream of their romance. The lyrics express a sense of yearning that is common in love songs but do so in a way that is poignant and relatable.
Line by Line Meaning
When days are long and nights are lonely
During the tough times of life, when days are endless and nights are lonesome
And all my daydreams have gone astray
And all my hopes and aspirations have disappeared
I think about the one and only
I think about the person who holds a special place in my heart
Who's bound to find me some golden day
Who I believe will come and bring good fortune to my life
The one I love is coming along some day
I am convinced that the person I love will come into my life someday
And I'll have none except the one I love
And I won't settle for anyone except the person I truly love
He/She may be near or ever so far away
The person I love may be geographically near or far from me
But I'll have none except the one I love
Regardless of their distance, I won't settle for anyone else
And though our meeting is left to chance
Even though our meeting is determined by fate and not by me
Until our meeting
Until we finally meet
I still will have my dream romance
I will continue to dream about a romantic future with the one I love
And through the night I pray to the moon above
And at night, I look up at the Moon and pray for our love to come true
To please be kind and find the one I love
To please be generous and bring the person I love into my life
Contributed by Julia N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.