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.
Solitude
Sonny Rollins Lyrics
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You haunt me
With dreadful ease
Of days gone by
In my solitude
You taunt me
With memories
I sit in my chair
And filled with despair
There's no one could be so sad
With gloom everywhere
I sit and I stare
I know that I'll soon go mad
In my solitude
I'm afraid
Dear Lord above
Send back my love
I sit in my chair
Filled with despair
There's no one, no one
No onecould be so sad
With gloom everywhere
I sit and I stare
I know that I'll soon go mad
In my solitude
I'm afraid
Dear Lord above
Send back my love
The lyrics to "Solitude" by Sonny Rollins describe a state of deep sadness and longing. The singer is alone and haunted by memories of someone who is no longer with them. The song conveys the pain and agony of being separated from a loved one and the desperation to be reunited with them. The repetition of "In my solitude" emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of the singer, while the haunting melody and mournful saxophone solos add to the melancholy mood. The lyrics evoke a sense of hopelessness and despair, as the singer is consumed by their longing for their lost love.
The second verse describes the singer's physical state as they sit in a chair, filled with despair and staring into nothingness. The imagery of "gloom everywhere" reinforces the sadness and hopelessness of the situation. The singer even fears that they will soon go mad, so great is their sadness. The final lines of the song appeal to a higher power, as the singer asks the Lord to "send back my love." The repetition of this line emphasizes the singer's desperate plea for help.
Line by Line Meaning
In my solitude
Being alone, isolated and cut off from everyone and everything else
You haunt me
Your presence unceasingly bothers and plagues me
With dreadful ease
With deeply troubling intensity and facility
Of days gone by
Of times that are past and can never be regained or relived
You taunt me
You mock and tease me relentlessly
With memories
With remembrances of past experiences and sensations
That never die
That persist and remain with me unceasingly
I sit in my chair
I remain seated and unproductive, unable to accomplish anything
And filled with despair
And overwhelmed with a profound sense of hopelessness
There's no one could be so sad
No one could ever feel as miserable as I do
With gloom everywhere
With pervasive feelings of darkness and despair surrounding me
I sit and I stare
I remain motionless and unresponsive, lost in thought
I know that I'll soon go mad
I am aware that my present state will soon drive me insane
In my solitude I'm afraid
Being alone fills me with fear and anxiety
Dear Lord above, send back my love
I implore God to return my lost beloved to me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, EDDIE LANGE DE, IRVING MILLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind