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.
Like Someone in Love
Sonny Rollins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hearing guitars like someone in love.
Sometimes the things I do astound me,
Mostly whenever you're around me.
Lately I seem to walk as though I had wings,
Bump into things like someone in love.
Each time I look at you,
I'm limp as a glove,
The lyrics of Sonny Rollins's song "Like Someone in Love" convey the excitement and intensity of falling in love. The singer is overwhelmed by the presence of their beloved and experiences a range of emotions that are both thrilling and destabilizing. The first line of the song, "Lately, I find myself out gazing at stars," captures the sense of wonder and enchantment that comes with love. The singer is so captivated by the object of their affection that they find themselves lost in reverie.
The second line, "Hearing guitars like someone in love," highlights the emotive quality of music and how it can stir up powerful feelings in a person. The music seems to resonate with the singer's emotional state, underscoring the heightened sensitivity they feel when in love. The following lines, "Sometimes the things I do astound me / Mostly whenever you're around me," speak to the disorienting effect that love can have on a person's behavior. The singer is so consumed by their feelings for their beloved that they act outside of their normal patterns and habits.
Line by Line Meaning
Lately, I find myself out gazing at stars,
Recently, I have caught myself looking at stars for an extended period,
Hearing guitars like someone in love.
It seems as if I am always hearing love songs
Sometimes the things I do astound me,
Sometimes my own actions surprise me,
Mostly whenever you're around me.
Which happens frequently when you're near me.
Lately I seem to walk as though I had wings,
It appears that I have newfound energy in the way I walk,
Bump into things like someone in love.
Though I have newfound energy, I am still clumsy as if love has blinded me.
Each time I look at you,
Whenever I glance in your direction
I'm limp as a glove,
I become weak and pliable
And feeling like someone in love.
As if love has taken over every emotion in me.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BURKE, JIMMY VAN HEUSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind