Stanley Victor Freberg (born August 7, 1926 in Los Angeles-April 7, 2015) w… Read Full Bio ↴Stanley Victor Freberg (born August 7, 1926 in Los Angeles-April 7, 2015) was a voice actor, comedian, and advertising creative.

In 1950, he scored a huge success with his first recording for Capitol Records, John and Marsha, a soap-opera parody that consisted of the title characters (both played by Freberg) repeating each other's names. In a follow-up he used pedal steel guitarist Speedy West to parody the 1953 country hit A Dear John Letter as A Dear John and Marsha Letter.

Throughout the 1950s he made a name for himself writing and performing both original songs (Tele-Vee-Shun) and parodies of popular tunes (The Yellow Rose of Texas, Day-O, Heartbreak Hotel). With fellow voice actors Daws Butler and June Foray he produced a medieval parody of Dragnet called St. George and the Dragon-Net. The latter recording was a #1 hit for four weeks in late 1953.

Freberg's brilliant, authentic-sounding musical parodies were a byproduct of his collaborations with Billy May and his Capitol Records producer Ken Nelson. His brilliant 1957 spoof of TV "champagne music" master Lawrence Welk, Wun'erful, Wun'erful was a true collaboration with May, a veteran big band musician and jazz arranger (known for his work with Frank Sinatra among others) who loathed Welk's corny style. To replicate that sound, May and some of Hollywood's finest studio musicians and vocalists worked to virtually clone Welk's sound. Billy Liebert, a first-rate accordionist copied Welk's own accordion playing. The humor was lost on Welk; Freberg later recalled the bandleader denying he ever used the term "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" (later the title of Welk's autobiography).

Another hit song to get the Freberg treatment was the weepy Cry, which Freberg rendered as Try ("You too can be unhappy... if you try!") Ray was furious, until he realized the success of Freberg's parody was helping sales and airplay of his own record; Ray and Freberg actually became close friends.

Freberg continued to skewer the advertising industry after the demise of his radio show, producing Green Chri$tma$ in 1958 (again with Butler), a scathing indictment of the overcommercialization of the holiday. Freberg, the son of a church minister and very religious himself, made sure to point out on that novelty record "Whose birthday we're celebrating." Despite his Jewish-sounding last name, Freberg is actually a Baptist of Swedish heritage.

"Green Chri$tma$" also foreshadowed his musical review on LP Stan Freberg Presents: The United States Of America, Volume 1: The Early Years (1961) in that both combined dialog and song in a musical-like style. Stan Freberg Presents: The United States of America, Volume 2: The Middle Years was planned for a release during America's Bicentennial in 1976 but did not emerge until 1996.

I've Got You Under My Skin
Stan Freberg Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've got you under my skin.
I've got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.
I've got you under my skin.
I'd tried so not to give in.
I said to myself, this affair never will go so well.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know down well
I've got you under my skin?

I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near
In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear,
Don't you know, you fool, you never can win?
Use your mentality, wake up to reality.
But each time that I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
Cause I've got you under my skin.

I would sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near
In spite of the warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, how it yells in my ear,
Don't you know, you fool, ain't no chance to win
Why not use your mentality, get up, wake up to reality?
And each time I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop just before I begin

Cause I've got you under my skin.
And I like you under my skin.

Overall Meaning

I've Got You Under My Skin is a classic love song written by Cole Porter in 1936, and later made famous by Frank Sinatra. The song is about being deeply in love with someone, even though you know that the relationship may not be a good idea. The lyrics use a metaphorical phrase "I've got you under my skin" to describe the intense emotions and feelings that the singer experiences towards their loved one. The idea of being "under someone's skin" suggests that they are deeply embedded in their thoughts, heart and soul.

The phrase "I'd tried so not to give in" suggests that the singer initially tried to resist their lover, but ultimately gave in to their feelings. They know that the relationship may not be logical or practical, but they are unable to resist the pull of love. The song suggests that the singer is willing to make sacrifices and take risks for love, even if it means going against their better judgment.

The warning voice in the song represents the singer's conscious mind, telling them to be rational and logical, but the heart wants what it wants. Despite the voice of reason, the singer is unable to resist their intense emotions and desires. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the singer declaring that they like having their loved one under their skin, suggesting that the love they have is worth the risk.

Line by Line Meaning

I've got you under my skin.
The singer is deeply in love with someone and cannot stop thinking about them.

I've got you deep in the heart of me.
The person the singer is in love with is a vital part of who they are.

So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.
The person the singer loves is so deeply embedded in their heart that they feel like they are a part of them.

I'd tried so not to give in.
The singer tried not to fall in love with this person.

I said to myself, this affair never will go so well.
The singer knew that this relationship was not a wise choice.

But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know down well I've got you under my skin?
The singer cannot resist their love for this person because they feel like they are a part of them.

I'd sacrifice anything come what might For the sake of havin' you near
The singer is willing to give up anything for the chance to be close to the person they love.

In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night And repeats, repeats in my ear,
The singer is aware that this is not a good relationship but cannot ignore their feelings.

Don't you know, you fool, you never can win?
The singer's inner critic warns them that this relationship is doomed to fail.

Use your mentality, wake up to reality.
The singer should use their head and recognize the reality of the situation.

But each time that I do just the thought of you Makes me stop before I begin
Despite their inner critic, the singer is unable to stop thinking about the person they love.

Cause I've got you under my skin.
The person the singer loves is deeply embedded in their heart and they cannot ignore their feelings for them.

And I like you under my skin.
The singer enjoys having the person they love be a part of who they are.

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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