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.
I'm A Fool To Want You
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a fool to want you
To want a love that can't be true
A love that's there for others too
I'm a fool to hold you
Such a fool to hold you
To seek a kiss not mine aloneTo share a kiss the Devil has known
Time and time again I said I'd leave you
Time and time again I went away
But then would come the time when I would need you
And once again these words I'd have to say
I'm a fool to want you
Pity me, I need you
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong
But right or wrong I can't get along
Without you
Time and time again I said I'd leave you
Time and time again I went away
But then would come the time when I would need you
And once again these words I'd have to say
Take me back, I love you
Pity me, I need you
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong
But right or wrong I can't get along
Without you
The song "I'm A Fool To Want You" by Sammy Davis Jr. is a heartbreaking confession of a man who knows that he should not want the person he loves because the love can never be true. He acknowledges that the person he's foolishly holding and longing for is not his alone, but for others too. He admits that he's left this person "time and time again," but he always comes back because he needs them.
The song speaks to the common experience of loving someone who is unavailable or who doesn't reciprocate those feelings. This love is consuming and irrational, but it's hard to let go of. Davis's delivery is hauntingly beautiful, perfectly conveying the agony of the lyrics.
The line, "To share a kiss the Devil has known," is an allusion to the biblical story of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. The phrase "the Devil has known" suggests that the kiss is not just an act of affection but one of betrayal and sin.
Overall, "I'm A Fool To Want You" is a melancholic song that captures the pain of loving someone you know you shouldn't want.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a fool to want you
I am aware that wanting you is unwise
I'm a fool to want you
I understand that desiring you is foolish
To want a love that can't be true
Yearning for love that is dishonest is irrational
A love that's there for others too
A love that is shared with others cannot be genuine
I'm a fool to hold you
It is foolish of me to embrace you
Such a fool to hold you
I realize it is unreasonable to hold onto you
To seek a kiss not mine alone
Wanting to share a kiss with others is unfair and unfaithful
To share a kiss the Devil has known
Sharing an intimate moment with someone else is immoral
Time and time again I said I'd leave you
Repeatedly, I threatened to walk away from you
Time and time again I went away
Multiple times, I left you behind
But then would come the time when I would need you
However, there were instances when I depended on you
And once again these words I'd have to say
I was compelled to say these words once more
I'm a fool to want you
It is ridiculous of me to want you
Pity me, I need you
Have mercy on me for I require you
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong
I recognize that it is incorrect, it has to be incorrect
But right or wrong I can't get along
Although it may be right or wrong, I cannot survive without you
Without you
I am nothing without you
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., ABRAMUS, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, THE MUSIC GOES ROUND, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, Joel Herron, Taito Vainio
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind