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.
You Don
Sonny Rollins Lyrics
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'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You don't know what love is.
You don't know how lips hurt
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Do you know how a lost heart fears
At the thought of reminiscing,
And how lips that taste of tears
Lose their taste for kissing?
You don't know how hearts burn
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You don't know what love is.
In Sonny Rollins's song "You Don't Know What Love Is," the lyrics dive deep into the idea of the true meaning of love. The song speaks of how one cannot understand what love truly is until they have experienced the pain of losing it. The line, "Until you've loved a love you've had to lose, You don't know what love is," implies that love is not just about happiness and being in love, it's also about the heartache that comes with it. Sonny's lyrics convey a message that love is not just a feeling, but a profound and complex emotion that involves both joy and pain.
The following lines, "You don't know how lips hurt, Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost, Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost, You don't know what love is," continue to express this idea. The experience of a broken heart and the pain that comes with it is necessary to truly know and understand what love is. The final lines, "Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes, You don't know what love is," imply that the pain of heartbreak can stay with you for a long time and can be felt every day, in little ways. The song elegantly conveys how love is complex and nuanced and can only be comprehended through life's painful experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what love is
Love is a complex emotion that cannot be understood unless one has experienced the pain, heartache, and longing associated with it.
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
The essence of love can only be understood by experiencing the sorrow and melancholy of having lost it.
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
One cannot truly comprehend love until they have loved someone deeply and felt the anguish of losing that person.
You don't know how lips hurt
The physical pain inflicted by love can only be understood by those who have kissed passionately and suffered the consequences of that act.
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
One cannot comprehend the pain of love until they have paid dearly for the pleasure of kissing someone deeply.
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
The despair of love can only be understood by those who have given their heart to someone completely and then had it broken.
You don't know how hearts burn
The intensity of love and longing can only be understood by those who have experienced the burning passion of a heart consumed by love.
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
Love is eternal, despite the pain and heartache that may come with it. It is a force that cannot be contained or suppressed, even in the face of adversity.
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
The insomnia and exhaustion that come with love can only be understood by those who have spent countless nights lying awake, tormented by their feelings of longing and despair.
Do you know how a lost heart fears
The fear of losing love can only be understood by those who have had their heart broken and feared that they may never feel that way again.
At the thought of reminiscing,
The memory of past love can be overwhelming, stirring up intense emotions of longing, regret, and heartache.
And how lips that taste of tears
Tears shed in the name of love leave a bitter taste on the lips of those who have suffered through heartache and loss.
Lose their taste for kissing?
Once one has experienced the pain of love, they may become hesitant to engage in acts of passion, as they fear the consequences of such actions.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dominique PERETTI
Probably one of the best solos of all time. Makes me cry every single time.
Baby Moe
FIRE sonny🔥🔥🔥Keep goin
Kevin Herbert
Crazy hot solo...