Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. (born December 8, 1925 in Harlem, New York… Read Full Bio ↴Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. (born December 8, 1925 in Harlem, New York; died May 16, 1990 in Beverly Hills, California) was a Grammy Award winning singer, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actor, dancer, multi-instrumentalist and only black member of Frank Sinatra's The Rat Pack. Davis began his career with his father and uncle in the Will Mastin Trio and he toured nationally with them, only leaving due to military service. He became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's after the 1951 Academy Awards, became a successful recording artist and then made his first film performances later that decade.

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.

This Is My Life
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You, you can walk out the door
Thinking you won the war
But I'm not keeping score
Me, I am used to the game
Win or lose it's the same
Someone lost, what a shame

Stop thinking you are number one

You threw the dice and never won
You never had a chance with me, and that's not hard to see
Each time you played a trick on me
I gave in to you happily
Knowing I had the upper hand, so understand

This is my life, what can I do
I can do very well without you
Without your sneer, without your smile
Without your arms and your awful idea

This is my life, what can I do
I can do it alright without you
This is my life and mine alone
And if you leave, I can live on my own
This is my life, what can I do

This is my life, what can I do
I can do it alright, without you
This is my life and mine alone
And if you leave, I can live on my own

You, think you made a clean break
Left me for your own sake
So you won't feel it again
Me, I can watch you depart
With no piece of my heart
With no pain, just a smile

I'd love to say I told you so
But what's the use, you'll never know
How many times I tried in vain to keep away the pain
Start thinking you are in my past
The two of us could never last
This love of ours was not planned, so understand

This is my life, what can I do
I can do very well without you
Without your smiles, without your sneer
Without your arms and your awful idea
This is my life, what can I do

(This is my life, my life, what can I, can I do)

(This is my life, my life, what can I, can I do)

(This is my life, my life, what can I, can I do)

(This is my life, my life, what can I, can I do)

Overall Meaning

In Sammy Davis Jr.'s song "This Is My Life," the singer reflects on a failed relationship in which his partner has left him. The opening lyrics indicate that the partner believed they had won the "war" of the relationship, but the singer is not interested in keeping score. He describes himself as comfortable with the game of love, regardless of whether he wins or loses. The partner is warned not to think they are "number one," as they never had a chance with the singer. The repeated lyric "this is my life" suggests that the singer is taking control of his own destiny and is able to move on from the relationship without being held back.

The middle verse of the song returns to the past relationship, with the singer dismissing his former partner's attempt to make a "clean break" as misguided. The singer acknowledges that he tried to keep the relationship together but ultimately recognizes that it was not meant to last. The repeated lyrics suggest a sense of defiance and self-assertion, as the singer repeats that he does not need the sneers or smiles of his former partner.

Line by Line Meaning

You, you can walk out the door Thinking you won the war But I'm not keeping score
You may feel like a winner leaving me, but I'm not keeping track of the score.

Me, I am used to the game Win or lose it's the same Someone lost, what a shame
I'm used to relationships being a game where there are winners and losers, but it's always a shame when someone loses.

Stop thinking you are number one You threw the dice and never won You never had a chance with me, and that's not hard to see Each time you played a trick on me I gave in to you happily Knowing I had the upper hand, so understand
You should stop thinking that you're always in control. You never had a chance with me to begin with, and every time you tried to trick me, I knew I had the upper hand and gave in to you happily.

This is my life, what can I do I can do very well without you Without your sneer, without your smile Without your arms and your awful idea This is my life, what can I do This is my life and mine alone And if you leave, I can live on my own
This is my life, and I can do very well without you. I don't need your negativity or positivity. I can live on my own and be just fine.

You, think you made a clean break Left me for your own sake So you won't feel it again Me, I can watch you depart With no piece of my heart With no pain, just a smile
You think you made a clean break by leaving me for your own sake, but I can watch you go without any pain or heartbreak, just a smile.

I'd love to say I told you so But what's the use, you'll never know How many times I tried in vain to keep away the pain Start thinking you are in my past The two of us could never last This love of ours was not planned, so understand
I'd like to say that I knew you would leave, but you'll never understand the pain I went through trying to make you stay. It's time to start thinking that you're in my past, because the two of us were never meant to be. So, just understand.

This is my life, what can I do I can do very well without you Without your smiles, without your sneer Without your arms and your awful idea This is my life, what can I do
This is my life, and I can do just fine without you. I don't need your positivity or negativity. I don't need your arms or your awful ideas.

This is my life, what can I do I can do it alright, without you This is my life and mine alone And if you leave, I can live on my own
This is my life, and I can do it without you. It's my life, and I'm the only one that controls it. And if you decide to leave, I can survive on my own.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOBBY LJUNGGREN, KRISTIAN LAGERSTROM

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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