Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jaz… Read Full Bio ↴Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a leader. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", "Pent-Up House", and "Airegin", have become jazz standards. Rollins has been called "the greatest living improviser" and the "Saxophone Colossus".

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.

I've Told Ev'ry Little Star
Sonny Rollins Lyrics

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I've told every little star
Just how sweet I think you are
Why haven't I told you

I've told ripples in a brook
Made my heart an open book
Why haven't I told you

Friends ask me am I in love
I always answer yes
Might as well confess
If I don't they guess

Maybe you may know it too

Oh my darling if you do
Why haven't you told me

Overall Meaning

Sonny Rollins's song "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star" is a classic love song, with lyrics that express the emotions of a person who is completely in love with someone but has not yet told them. The first verse talks about how the singer has told every star how sweet they think their love interest is, but they haven't told the person themselves. The second verse references the fact that the singer has opened up their heart like a book, but still hasn't expressed their feelings to the person they love. They wonder why they haven't, and at the same time, ask the person if they feel the same way.

The chorus sings about how the singer is always asked by their friends whether they are in love, and they always answer "yes". However, they haven't confessed their love to the person in question, and so their friends have essentially guessed it. The final verse is directed towards the person the singer loves, and they ask why they too haven't yet expressed their feelings. They ask the person to tell them if they feel the same way, essentially prompting them to initiate a conversation about their feelings towards each other.

Overall, the song expresses the emotions of someone who is in love but hasn't yet expressed their feelings to the person they love. It's a simple and elegant love song that has stood the test of time.

Line by Line Meaning

I've told every little star
I've shared with the entire universe

Just how sweet I think you are
How incredibly kind and adorable you are

Why haven't I told you
Why haven't I expressed it to you

I've told ripples in a brook
I've even revealed it to inanimate objects

Made my heart an open book
My emotions have been visible to all

Why haven't I told you
Why haven't I shared these feelings with you

Friends ask me am I in love
People inquire whether I am enamored

I always answer yes
I affirm every single time

Might as well confess
I should be more honest about it

If I don't they guess
If I don't confirm, they assume

Maybe you may know it too
Perhaps you might also be aware of it