Clooney's first recordings, in May 1946, were for Columbia Records. She sang with Tony Pastor's big band. Clooney continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia.
She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit Come On-a My House written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (better known as David Seville, the father figure of Alvin and the Chipmunks), which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" (a cover version of the Italian song Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina by Alberto Rabagliati), "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There" and "This Ole House", although she had success as a jazz vocalist. Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly due to problems related to depression and drug addiction, but revived in 1977, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002. She was the aunt of Academy Award winning actor George Clooney; mother-in-law of singer Debby Boone; and sister to former television personality Nick Clooney. She was the ex-wife of Jose Ferrer; mother of actor Miguel Ferrer
Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001. Around this time, she gave her last concert, in Hawaii, backed by the Honolulu Symphony Pops; her last song was "God Bless America".
Joy To The World
Rosemary Clooney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and heaven and nature sing
Joy to the world the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love and wonders of His love
And wonders and wonders of His love
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and heaven and nature sing
The lyrics to Rosemary Clooney's "Joy to the World" describe the advent of Jesus Christ, the Savior, to earth. The song urges people to prepare for the coming of their King by readying their hearts to receive Him. The ultimate result of Christ's coming is the rejoicing of heaven and earth. The second verse moves beyond the announcement Christ's arrival and celebrates the reality that the Savior reigns. The people are called to use music to express their appreciation for His reign.
The third verse grounds the song's message in the power of Christ's love and righteousness. Christ's reign, the song suggests, demonstrates the truth of His love and how His love is powerful enough to work wonders. The song thus calls for a response both to Christ's reign and His love.
Overall, "Joy to the World" invites listeners to welcome the arrival of the Savior and to respond with joy and celebration. While it may have been written for the Christmas season, its message of heart readiness, rejoicing, and appreciation for Christ's reign resonates throughout the year.
Line by Line Meaning
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let us celebrate with joy because the Lord has arrived
Let earth receive her King
Let the world welcome the arrival of its King
Let every heart prepare Him room
Let every person prepare their hearts to welcome Him
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
And even the heavens and nature celebrate and sing in unison with us
And Heaven and heaven and nature sing
Both the earthly and heavenly realms sing praises for the arrival of the King
Joy to the world the Savior reigns
Let us rejoice because the Savior has taken over and is in control
Let men their songs employ
Let all men sing and praise Him with their voices
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Even the fields, floods, rocks, hills, and plains join in song and celebration
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Let us repeat the joyous songs and sounds of celebration
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
Let us keep repeating the joyful noise and celebrations
He rules the world with truth and grace
He governs the world with honesty and kindness
And makes the nations prove
He proves to the nations the truth of His rule
The glories of His righteousness
He is righteous and worthy of glory and praise
And wonders of His love and wonders of His love
And His love is so great that it is a wonder to behold
And wonders and wonders of His love
The wonders of His love are beyond measure
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let us rejoice because the Lord has arrived
Let earth receive her King
Let the world welcome the arrival of its King
Let every heart prepare Him room
Let every person prepare their hearts to welcome Him
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
And even the heavens and nature celebrate and sing in unison with us
And Heaven and heaven and nature sing
Both the earthly and heavenly realms sing praises for the arrival of the King
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, FRED BOCK MUSIC CO.,INC.
Written by: Isaac Watts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind