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.
Body & Soul
Sonny Rollins Lyrics
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For you I sigh, for you dear only
Why haven't you seen it
I'm all for you body and soul
I spend my days in longing
And wondering why it's me you're wronging
I tell you I mean it
I can't believe it
It's hard to conceive it
That you'd turn away romance
Are you pretending
It looks like the ending
Unless I could have just one more chance to prove, dear
My life a wreck you're making
You know I'm yours for just the taking
I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul
My life a wreck you're making
You know I'm yours for the very taking
I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul
Body and Soul is a song that expresses the lament of unrequited love. The lyrics portray the singer as a lovelorn, pining individual who is hopelessly trapped in the throes of longing for someone who doesn't reciprocate their feelings. The opening line - 'My heart is sad and lonely', introduces the theme of the song as a mournful and melancholic one.
As the song progresses, the singer goes on to express their deep-seated longing for their object of affection. The lines 'For you, I sigh, for you dear only' and 'I spend my days in longing' reveal the depth of the singer's feelings. The song also portrays a sense of desperation as the singer wonders why their love isn't being reciprocated. The lines 'And wondering why it's me you're wronging' and 'Why haven't you seen it' are indicative of the singer's desperation for affection.
Overall, the lyrics of Body and Soul are a poignant portrayal of unrequited love, the longing and yearning that it engenders, and the sense of hopelessness that it can bring to the lovelorn.
Line by Line Meaning
My heart is sad and lonely
I ache from within with my heart heavy and spirit dampened.
For you, I sigh, for you dear only
My soul is consumed by your thoughts, and I long to be with only you.
Why haven't you seen it
I wonder why you have failed to recognize my love for you.
I'm all for you body and soul
I offer my complete being, my physical self as well as my spirit, to you.
I spend my days in longing
All I can do is yearn and pine for you every moment of every day.
And wondering why it's me you're wronging
I am perplexed, trying to understand why you are acting so poorly towards me.
I tell you I mean it
Know that I am completely sincere in my feelings.
I'm all for you body and soul
I offer my complete being, my physical self as well as my spirit, to you.
I can't believe it
I cannot fathom what you are doing.
It's hard to conceive it
What you are doing is so difficult to comprehend.
That you'd turn away romance
I am astonished that you would reject my love.
Are you pretending
Is everything you've said and done just a performance?
It looks like the ending
It appears that our relationship is at its conclusion.
Unless I could have just one more chance to prove, dear
If only I could demonstrate my affection one more time, my love.
My life a wreck you're making
My life is all in disarray due to the turbulence you are causing.
You know I'm yours for just the taking
I want you to know that I am completely devoted to you and available to you.
I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul
I would be happy to merge with you, fully giving myself up, physically and spiritually.
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Sentric Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, John Green, Robert Sour
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind