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.
Days Of Wine And Roses
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through a meadow land toward a closing door
A door marked "nevermore" that wasn't there before
The lonely night discloses just a passing breeze filled with memories
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
The days of wine and roses and you
(The lonely night discloses) just a passing breeze filled with memories
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
The days of wine and roses and you-oo-oo
The song "Days Of Wine And Roses" by Sammy Davis Jr. represents the idea of fleeting happiness that eventually fades away. The beginning line of the song, "The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play," creates the image of something that is joyful and carefree but also temporary, like the happiness one experiences as a child while playing. The lyrics move on to describe a journey towards a closing door marked "nevermore" that was not present before, representing the closing off of opportunities and happiness.
The second stanza talks of a lonely night where memories emerge and expose the passage of time, and the golden smile that had welcomed one into the joyful times, which were intertwined with both the days of wine and roses and a particular person. This stanza reveals the importance of relationships in the experience of joy and the realization that memories can end up becoming bittersweet.
Overall, the song speaks of the impermanence of happiness and the importance of cherishing the moments spent joyfully with the people we love since time passes by quite swiftly.
Line by Line Meaning
The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play
Memories of happy times slip away like they were never there, just like a child’s playtime ends.
Through a meadow land toward a closing door
The memories of happy days are fleeting and feel like they are disappearing quickly.
A door marked “nevermore” that wasn’t there before
Feeling like the happiness of past days and memories are now gone for good and you can't get them back.
The lonely night discloses just a passing breeze filled with memories
Memories of times past rush back during quiet, lonely nights, but they never last.
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
Thinking of the happy times spent with the person you shared those memories with and their smiling face that made them special.
The days of wine and roses and you
Those memories are now synonymous with the person you spent them with and the happiness they brought to life.
Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HENRY N. MANCINI, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind