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.
For Once In My Life
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone I’ve needed so long
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I’ll be strong
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew
Someone warm like you
Who have my dreams come true
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before
For once I have someone I know won't desert me
I’m not alone anymore
For once I can say
This is mine you can’t take it
As long as I know I have love I can make it
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
For once I can say
This is mine you can’t take it
As long as I know I have love we can make it
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
The lyrics of Sammy Davis Jr.'s "For Once In My Life" are about finding love and finally feeling complete. The singer begins by stating that they have finally found someone who needs them and that they have needed this person for a long time. They are finally unafraid to go where life leads them and they feel strong. This person they have found is someone who is warm and who makes their dreams come true. They are grateful for having found them.
The singer then goes on to say that for once in their life, they will not let sorrow hurt them. They have been hurt before but this time, they have found someone who will not desert them. They are no longer alone and are grateful for having found someone who needs them. They state that they have something that is theirs and that no one can take it away as long as they have love. The final line reiterates the importance of having someone who needs them, and they end the song by stating that as long as they have love, they can make it.
Line by Line Meaning
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
I have finally found someone who depends on me and whom I can depend on in return.
Someone I’ve needed so long
I have been searching for this person for a long time and finally found them.
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I’ll be strong
I feel confident and ready to face whatever comes my way without fear.
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of, long before I knew someone warm like you
I have finally achieved what I always dreamed of, even before I met this special person.
Who have my dreams come true
This person has helped me make my dreams a reality.
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me, not like it's hurt me before
I am determined to not let past sorrows affect me anymore.
For once I have someone I know won't desert me, I’m not alone anymore
I have found someone who will not abandon me, and I feel less lonely now.
For once I can say this is mine, you can’t take it
I finally have something that no one can take away from me.
As long as I know I have love I can make it
The love I have with this person gives me the strength to overcome anything.
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
I am grateful to have found someone who needs me as much as I need them.
As long as I know I have love we can make it
Together, with the love we share, we can overcome whatever obstacles come our way.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ronald N. Miller, Orlando Murden
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Sicilia928
My idol (along with Frank) since I was 7 years old. I am now 70. I saw Sammy perform live five times, but the greatest day of my entire life is the day I met Sammy. It was a charity golf game and Sammy was the honorary host. I was 20 years old. I am a portrait artist and brought a pastel I had done of Sam to give to him. I arrived before it started and noticed people emerging from the clubhouse in golf carts, so I waited. When I saw him sitting in the passenger seat (with Altovise sitting in the back) I noticed people yelling, hoping he'd stop. The driver never stopped and so when they got to me I gently laid the drawing on Sammy's lap as they drove by. All of a sudden he yelled for the driver to stop the cart and he called me over. He asked me if I drew it and I said yes and told him how he had been my idol since I was 7. He pulled me down and kissed me on my cheek and asked me if I had my name and address on the back. I said I didn't but I would be following him around the course and would add it. We chatted for almost 5 minutes. A few years later at a concert of his I brought a large pencil drawing I did of the picture of Sammy, age 3 or 4, standing in a velvet chair in overalls, and of all things, in blackface. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I gave it to some guards at his dressing room, this time with my name and address on the back. A few weeks later I received a letter on yellow stationery from Beverly Hills. It was a two page handwritten letter from Altovise telling me how talented I am and how much Sammy loved the drawing. She also said they were going to have a pillow made from the image. Yep, the best day of my life.
@hatmanf133
This shows the class of the man, what a fantastic story!
@DarrenCarrie
Beautiful story ❤️ 🕊
@mattdaugherty7865
Sammy could definitely stand and deliver!
@DavidCohen-m9t
In the 80s, I was a friend of Sammy Davis. This man was an entertainment genius.
But most of all are real human being that enjoyed entertaining people and I was privileged to know him
@tampec
Was you also a friend of liza?
@justinpedalpusher
Wow! Brilliant! There will never be another entertainer like Sammy.
@tomelrick8609
This is rediculasly brilliant.! There are NO artists who just ooze talent like this today...NO ONE...!!
@MrRodBelt
Reading all these wonderful comments of appreciation for Sammy's incredible talents, I feel lucky and privileged to have watched him perform in person not only once, but TWICE in my lifetime. The greatest entertainer of all time in my book. No ifs, buts or maybe.
@runesundb3448
For me he is the nr. 1 crooner and entertainer! Check that timing! Just love it!