Davis, Jr. was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, to Elvera Sanchez, a dancer, and Sammy Davis, Sr., an African-American entertainer. The couple were both dancers in vaudeville. As an infant, he was raised by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents split up. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour. Sammy Davis Jr. claimed that his mother was Puerto Rican, however the 2003 biography In Black and White alleges that he made this claim due to the political sensitivities of the 1960s (during the Cuban Missile Crisis), and that his mother was born in New York of Cuban descent rather than in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
As a child he learned how to dance from his father, Sammy Davis, Sr., and his "uncle" Will Mastin, who led the dance troupe his father worked for. Davis joined the act as a young child in 1928 and they became the Will Mastin Trio. Throughout his long career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing.
Mastin and his father had shielded him from racism. Snubs were explained as jealousy. But during World War II, Davis served in the United States Army, where he was first confronted by strong racial prejudice. As he said later, "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color anymore. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for eighteen years, a door which they had always secretly held open.
Blame It On My Youth
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then you became the bored one
I was like a toy
That brought you joy one day
A broken toy
That you preferred to throw away
If I expected loveWhen we first kissed
Blame it on my youth
If only just for you I did exist
Blame it on my youth
I believed in everything
Like a child of three
You meant more than anything
All the world to me
If you were on my mind
All night and day
Blame it on my youth
If I forgot to eat and sleep and pray
Blame it on my youth
If I cried a little bit
When first I learned the truth
Don't blame it on the stars
Don't blame it on your smile
Don't blame it on my eyes
Blame it on my youth
The lyrics of Sammy Davis Jr.'s song "Blame It On My Youth" revolve around a failed relationship and the emotions that come with it. The opening lines, "You were my adored one, then you became the bored one," illustrate how the love and passion in the relationship died over time. The singer compares himself to a toy, brought in for joy, but eventually became a broken toy, thrown away. These lines highlight how the singer was eventually abandoned by the love of his life, and how he feels discarded and unwanted.
The second verse, "If I expected love when we first kissed, blame it on my youth. If only just for you I did exist, blame it on my youth," shows how the singer is willing to take the blame for harboring unrealistic expectations at the beginning of the relationship. He is ready to own up to his naivete and inexperience in matters of the heart, which caused him to put all his faith and trust in the person he loved.
The chorus, "If you were on my mind all night and day, blame it on my youth. If I forgot to eat and sleep and pray, blame it on my youth," goes on to describe the feelings of obsession and infatuation that the singer had for his beloved. The final verse further emphasizes his innocence and inexperience in love by stating, "Don't blame it on the stars, don't blame it on your smile, don't blame it on my eyes, blame it on my youth." These lines underscore how youth and inexperience can lead one to believe in the impossible, the unsaid, and the unreal.
Overall, the lyrics of "Blame It On My Youth" illustrate how youth and naivete can lead to unbridled passion, unrealistic expectations, obsession, and eventual heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
You were my adored one
You used to be the person I cherished and admired the most
Then you became the bored one
Later on, you became disinterested and unenthusiastic in our relationship
I was like a toy
I felt like an object that you played with
That brought you joy one day
At some point, I made you happy
A broken toy
Now I'm a damaged object that you want to get rid of
If I expected love
When we first started dating, I hoped for affection and romance
When we first kissed
The moment we shared our first kiss
Blame it on my youth
My naivety and lack of experience made me think that love was enough
If only just for you I did exist
If you were the only reason that I kept living happily
I believed in everything
I was overly trusting and gullible
Like a child of three
Just like a three-year-old kid who believes in everything
You meant more than anything
You were my everything, my world revolved entirely around you
All the world to me
You were my entire world, my universe, my everything
If you were on my mind
Whenever I thought about something, you were always in my thoughts
All night and day
24/7, as if you were haunting me
If I forgot to eat and sleep and pray
At times, I cared about you so much that I neglected my basic needs and even my faith
If I cried a little bit
When I finally realized that you didn't love me the same anymore, I shed some tears
When first I learned the truth
When I finally discovered the reality of our relationship
Don't blame it on the stars
The stars, a symbol of fate, are not responsible for what happened
Don't blame it on your smile
Your smile, which once enchanted me, did not cause our relationship to fail
Don't blame it on my eyes
My eyes, which saw you as someone special, are not to blame
Blame it on my youth
It was my young and naive mindset that made me believe in love unconditionally
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Edward Heyman, Oscar Levant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind