It was formed with the original name of Sentimental Four in Newport News, Virginia, U.S., in the late 1940s, and initially consisted of two sets of brothers - Rudy West (born 25 July 1932, Newport News, Virginia) and Bernie West (born 4 February 1930, Newport News), and Ripley Ingram (born 1930 - died 23 March 1995, Newport News) and Raphael Ingram. Ingram left in 1949 and Maryland Pierce (born 1933) and Dickie Smith became members in his place. At this juncture the name of the group was changed to The Five Keys.
They were signed to Aladdin Records in 1951, and in 1952 Rudy West left to join the United States Army, and he was replaced by Ulysses K. Hicks. In 1954 Dickie Smith left and was replaced with Ramon Loper.
At this point the Five Keys was signed to Capitol Records, and their popularity increased, although more instrumentation was used.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.
These Foolish Things
The Five Keys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh! Will you never set me free?
The ties that bound us
Are still around us
There's no escape that I can see
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fair ground's painted swings
These foolish things remind me of you
You came you saw you conquer'd me
When you did that to me
I knew somehow this had to be
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
First daffodils and long excited cables
And candle lights on little corner tables
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The beauty that is Spring's
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things remind me of you
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things remind me of you
How strange how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
They seem to bring you near to me
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you
The first two lines of The Five Keys' "These Foolish Things" express a sense of frustration and entrapment. The singer pleads to be set free from the ties that still bind them to their ex-partner. Despite their attempts to move on, little things consistently remind them of happier or more painful moments in their relationship that keep them tethered to the past. The lyrics offer several examples of these "foolish things," including a cigarette with lipstick traces, a romantic airline ticket, a tinkling piano in a neighboring apartment, and even the scent of burning leaves or gardenia perfume on a pillow.
However, as the song progresses, the tone shifts to a more wistful and nostalgic one. The singer muses on how strange and sweet it is to still feel connected to their former lover through these small memories. They seem to take comfort in the fact that even though the relationship has ended, these "foolish things" can still bring their ex-partner closer to them. The final lines suggest that these memories are fondly cherished and that the ghost of their former partner still haunts them in a way that they welcome.
Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on the power of nostalgia and the pain and pleasure that can come from reminiscing about past loves. It acknowledges the bittersweet nature of memories and how they can both comfort and torment us.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh! Will you never let me be?
Will you never give me my freedom?
Oh! Will you never set me free?
Won't you ever let me go?
The ties that bound us
The things that connected us
Are still around us
Still present in our lives
There's no escape that I can see
I cannot find a way to get away from these connections
And still those little things remain
The small objects and memories still exist
That bring me happiness or pain
Things that make me feel happy or sad
A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces
A cigarette that reminds me of you because of the lipstick stains
An airline ticket to romantic places
A ticket to a romantic destination that we never took
And still my heart has wings
I still feel light and carefree when I remember you
These foolish things remind me of you
These seemingly insignificant things bring memories of you to my mind
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
The sound of a piano playing nearby
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
My clumsy attempt at expressing my true feelings for you
A fair ground's painted swings
The painted swings at a carnival or fair
You came you saw you conquer'd me
You won me over completely when you came into my life
When you did that to me
When you won my heart
I knew somehow this had to be
I knew that we were meant to be together
The winds of March that make my heart a dancer
The spring winds that make me feel alive and joyful
A telephone that rings but who's to answer?
When the phone rings, I don't know who will pick it up
The park at evening when the bell has sounded
The park at evening time, signaled by the ringing of a bell
The "Ile de France" with all the gulls around it
The "Ile de France" boat surrounded by seagulls
The beauty that is Spring's
The beauty of springtime
How strange how sweet to find you still
It's both surprising and comforting to still have feelings for you
These things are dear to me
I hold these memories in high regard
They seem to bring you near to me
These memories make me feel like you are still close to me
The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
The sound of trains passing by empty stations at night
Silk stockings thrown aside dance invitations
A memory of dancing and romance
Gardenia perfume ling'ring on a pillow
The scent of gardenia flowers on a pillow
Wild strawb'ries only seven francs a kilo
The taste of freshly-picked, inexpensive strawberries
The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
Memories of the actress Greta Garbo and the smell of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The sound of whistling waiters as a bar or restaurant closes for the night
The song that Crosby sings
A song performed by the singer Bing Crosby
The scent of smould'ring leaves, the wail of steamers
The smell of burning leaves and the sound of steamboats passing by
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Seeing two people in love walking like they are in a dream
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel Padilla
Well mr. Doo wop with people like you in place we get to enjoy these fabulous voices of the 5-keys a premiere singing group Everything Is Beautiful vocal harmonies Arrangements thank you so much for sharing and the background
Doughgirl Davis
Absolutely beautiful ❤️❤️😍😍❤️❤️
Michele Valeri
Lovely ✨💗🎼💗✨
Toby Russo
The Keys rule.
Lonnie Cook
The post notes claim that Maryland Pierce was a member of The Avalons prior to joining The 5 Keys in 1950. No Avalons group existed prior to 1950.The accurate account is that Pierce was in a group that later changed it's name to The Avalons in 1955. https://www.facebook.com/doowopsvoice
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