Rollins was born in New York City to parents from the United States Virgin Islands. The youngest of three siblings, he grew up in central Harlem and on Sugar Hill, receiving his first alto saxophone at the age of seven or eight. He attended Edward W. Stitt Junior High School and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in East Harlem. Rollins started as a pianist, changed to alto saxophone, and finally switched to tenor in 1946. During his high school years, he played in a band with other future jazz legends Jackie McLean, Kenny Drew, and Art Taylor.
As a saxophonist he had initially been attracted to the jump and R&B sounds of performers like Louis Jordan, but soon became drawn into the mainstream tenor saxophone tradition. The German critic Joachim Berendt described this tradition as sitting between the two poles of the strong sonority of Coleman Hawkins and the light flexible phrasing of Lester Young, which did so much to inspire the fleet improvisation of bebop in the 1950s. Other tenor saxophone influences include Ben Webster and Don Byas. By his mid-teens, Rollins became heavily influenced by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. During his high school years, he was mentored by the pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, often rehearsing at Monk's apartment.
Rollins has played, at various times, a Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone and a Buescher Aristocrat. During the 1970s he recorded on soprano saxophone for the album Easy Living. His preferred mouthpieces are made by Otto Link and Berg Larsen. He uses Frederick Hemke medium reeds.
16. It's Only A Paper Moon
Sonny Rollins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me
Sonny Rollins's song "It's Only A Paper Moon" is a beautiful love song that describes the power of love and belief in oneself. The singer is hopeful and confident that his love for his partner can make even the most unreal things come true. He refers to the paper moon sailing over a cardboard sea and the canvas sky hanging over a muslin tree, stating that they are only illusions but can become a reality if his partner believed in him. These phrases are metaphors that represent human emotions and how a person's beliefs can change one's perception of reality. The song emphasizes the idea that love and belief can make all the difference in one's life, and how even phony things can become real in the eyes of a believer.
The lyrics of the song further express the importance of love by comparing it to a honky-tonk parade and a melody played in a penny arcade. These are contexts where love might be overlooked or undervalued, but the singer is hopeful that even in such surroundings, love could become an inspiration for those who believe in it. The song concludes by conveying that even though the world is a phony place, it can become genuine if one has love in their life, and the singer would be happiest if his partner believed in him.
Line by Line Meaning
Say, it's only a paper moon
I understand that this world seems fake and temporary
Sailing over a cardboard sea
This world seems makeshift and not quite real
But it wouldn't be make-believe
But it wouldn't be fake or imaginary
If you believed in me
If you trusted in me and what I say is true
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Yes, even the sky above us seems temporary
Hanging over a muslin tree
Just like the trees which appear to be flimsy and fabricated
Without your love
Without your love and support
It's a honky-tonk parade
Everything would appear disjointed, chaotic and disconnected
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
With no meaning or significant purpose
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
This world is just a show and a circus like the famous traveling circus
Just as phony as it can be
As unreal and fake as it can possibly get
But it wouldn't be make-believe
However, it wouldn't be artificial and fabricated
If you believed in me
If you had faith in me and what I say is true
It's phony it's plain to see
The truth of the matter is, it's all fake and temporary
How happy I would be
However, if you did believe in me, I would be overjoyed
If you believed in me
If you had trust and confidence in me and what I say is true
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, S.A. MUSIC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Rose, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Claire Bradin
Sonny Rollins age 21... The best saxophone player in the solar system.
TXHusker
Recorded @ Apex Studios in NYC on 05 October 1951. Producer is Bob Weinstock. Composed by Harold Arlen. Miles Davis (tp), Sonny Rollins (ts), Walter Bishop, Jr. (p), Tommy Potter (b), Art Blakey (d). Master# 234. Released on 10" LP# 124. Released on 1956 12" LP "Dig" (Prestige 7012) and 1963 12" LP "Diggin' with the Miles Davis Sextet" (Prestige 7281). Reissued on CD in 1987 as Miles Davis' "Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951-1956" (Prestige PCD 012-2) and in 1992 as "Sonny Rollins: The Complete Prestige Recordings" (Prestige PCD 4407-2) .