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.

Sonny Boy
Sonny Rollins Lyrics

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Climb up on my knee Sonny Boy
Though you're only three Sonny Boy
You've no way of knowing
There's no way of showing
What you mean to me Sonny Boy.

[Chorus]
When there are gray skies,

I don't mind the gray skies.
You make them blue Sonny Boy.
Friends may forsake me.
Let them all forsake me.
I still have you Sonny Boy.

You're sent from heaven
And I know your worth.
You made a heaven
For me here on earth.

When I'm old and gray dear
Promise you won't stray dear
For I love you so Sonny Boy.

[Chorus]

You're sent from heaven
And I know your worth.
You've made a heaven
For me here on earth.

And the angels grew lonely

Took you because they were lonely
I'm lonely too Sonny Boy.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sonny Rollins's song "Sonny Boy" are filled with emotional sentiments of love and devotion from a parent to their child. The song starts with a father inviting his three-year-old son to climb up on his knee as he expresses that the child has no idea just how much he means to him. The father notes that it’s impossible to show or explain what his son means to him. The chorus speaks of how the child brings color to his world, even during the gray times. It goes on to say that even if friends abandon the father, he will always have his son. The second verse repeats the sentiment of the child being a gift from heaven, having made a wonderful life for the father. The father then makes an emotional plea to the son, promising to take care of him through the years, even when he becomes old and gray.

The song's core meaning is the love that a parent feels for their child, and how they are willing to go to great lengths to care for and protect them. The lyrics paint a picture of an unbreakable bond between parent and child, with the father promising to always cherish and care for his son. It also shows the sadness and heartache a parent feels when the child is taken away from them, even if it is by angels, as they grow lonely without them.

Line by Line Meaning

Climb up on my knee Sonny Boy
Come up on my lap, Sonny Boy

Though you're only three Sonny Boy
Even though you're young, Sonny Boy

You've no way of knowing
You don't understand yet

There's no way of showing
I can't fully express it

What you mean to me Sonny Boy.
How much I love you, Sonny Boy.

[Chorus]
The repeating chorus

When there are gray skies,
When things are gloomy

I don't mind the gray skies.
It doesn't bother me

You make them blue Sonny Boy.
Your presence brightens up my life, Sonny Boy.

Friends may forsake me.
My friends may leave me

Let them all forsake me.
It's okay if they do