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 Left My Heart In San Francisco
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
High on a hill it calls to me
to be where little cable cars
climb halfway to the stars!
The morning fog may chill the air,
I don't care!
My love waits there in San Francisco,
above the blue and windy sea.When I come home to you, San Francisco,
your golden sun will shine for me!
I left my heart in San Francisco.
High on a hill it calls to me
to be where little cable cars
climb halfway to the stars!
The morning fog may chill the air,
I don't care!
My love waits there in San Francisco,
above the blue and windy sea.
When I come home to you, San Francisco,
your golden sun will shine for me!
Line by Line Meaning
I left my heart in San Francisco.
I have left my emotions and love in San Francisco.
High on a hill it calls to me
There is a hill in San Francisco that has an emotional pull on me.
to be where little cable cars
I want to be in the location where the cable cars operate.
climb halfway to the stars!
The cable cars climb the hill in San Francisco to reach a sky-high limit.
The morning fog may chill the air,
The air of San Francisco might be cold and misty in the morning due to the fog.
I don't care!
Despite that, I still don't care about the cold weather and still love San Francisco.
My love waits there in San Francisco,
I have someone I love and care about in San Francisco.
above the blue and windy sea.
My love is present above the windy and blue ocean of San Francisco.
When I come home to you, San Francisco,
I long to come back to you San Francisco.
your golden sun will shine for me!
When I return to San Francisco, I know that its golden sun will shine for me and make me feel good.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Douglas Cross, George Cory
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@karlhungus5554
Sammy could swing any tune! An extraordinary performer with colossal talents for singing, dancing, playing instruments, acting, performing comedy, and doing impressions. To me, Sammy is the single most talented performer of all time.