Before his international acclaim as a pop vocalist, Nathaniel Adams Coles b… Read Full Bio ↴Before his international acclaim as a pop vocalist, Nathaniel Adams Coles built an indelible reputation as a jazz pianist in the groundbreaking combo, The King Cole Trio. Born into a musical family, young Nat Coles (later changed to Cole) recorded with his older brother, Edward, in 1936 for the Decca label. The four sides cut by Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers gave the general public its first glimpse of Nat's gentle yet lively piano riffs. After touring with a revival show of Eubie Blake's revue Shuffle Along, Cole settled in Los Angeles, playing various nightclubs as a soloist. In 1937, club owner Bob Lewis suggested that Cole assemble a small band to work at his Swanee Inn on North La Brea. The group's unorthodox instrumentation and size - they had no drummer and, at the time, big bands were the rage - featured Wesley Prince on bass and the innovative phrasings of electric guitarist Oscar Moore. The Trio's blend of jump blues and jazzy instrumentals with bouncy vocal stylings was a collective effort, while Cole occasionally took the lead on standard ballads. After an uneventful 1939 session for the Davis & Schwegler recording company in Hollywood, The Trio accompanied Lionel Hampton on two recording dates the following summer. Their association with Hampton helped, and that winter The Trio signed with Decca. Their 1940-41 sessions for the label yielded sixteen songs and captured the attention of fellow musicians, fans and a handful of critics. Later that fall, The Trio sounded right at home with drummer Lee Young on a four-song session for the Ammor label. In 1942, Cole recorded with Red Callender and saxophonist Lester Young for the Philo/Aladdin label, Oscar Moore with Cole at the piano. Image courtesy of the Dave Dexter, Jr. Collection.producing a handful of recordings that became benchmarks in their individual careers. Signing with Capitol Records in 1943, The Trio consisted of Cole, Moore, and Johnny Miller, who had settled in as the permanent bassist. Moore left the fold in 1947 and Irving Ashby replaced him. Capitol Records featured The Trio less and less after that, while Cole was singled out as a vocalist often backed by lush string orchestras. By the 1950's, Cole's reputation as a singer had reached a wide pop audience and, upon his death in 1965, his place in music history was forever cemented. His fellow jazz peers, however, never forgot his equally unique touch on the piano and the influence his early trio work had on later performers such as Oscar Peterson, Red Garland, and Tommy Flanagan.

Funny
The Nat King Cole Trio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

-artist: nat king cole
-peak billboard position # 26 in 1952
-words and music by marcia neal, philip f. broughton, bob merrill, and hughie prince

Funny, how I've stopped loving you
I can pass you on the street and my heart don't skip a beat
Not much, so much my eyes wanna cry
Funny, how I've stopped loving you

I can listen to your name and it doesn't start a flame
Not much, so much my heart wants to die

Now that you're standing here, darling, I don't shed a tear
This is just the rain in my eyes

And if I have proved to you everything I say is true
Please help me believe my own lies

Funny, how I've stopped loving you
And it's funny I don't miss all the heaven in your kiss
Your touch, no I don't love you, not much

Funny, how I've stopped loving you
And it's funny I don't miss all the heaven in your kiss
Your touch, no I don't love you, not much

No I don't love you, not much

Overall Meaning

The Nat King Cole Trio's song Funny is a reflective and introspective piece about the end of a relationship. The lyrics express the emotional journey the singer has been through, as they have stopped loving someone who was once the world to them. The opening line, "Funny, how I've stopped loving you" sets the tone of the song as the singer marvels at how easily they have moved on from their romantic feelings. The singer talks about being able to see their former lover on the street without feeling any heartache, and listening to their name without feeling any passion. These are things that would have once caused the singer's heart to skip a beat or feel like it's about to die.

In the second verse, the singer acknowledges the presence of their former lover but does not show any sign of sadness. The line "this is just the rain in my eyes" acknowledges the tears in their eyes but implies that it's not because they are sad about losing the relationship. The last line of the verse, "Please help me believe my own lies," implies that the singer is trying to convince themselves that they are okay with the end of the relationship.

The chorus repeats the lyrics "Funny, how I've stopped loving you" and adds "it's funny, I don't miss all the heaven in your kiss." The word "heaven" here shows the depth of the relationship, yet the singer is not sentimental about the memories. Instead, they acknowledge the changes, the love gone, and the absence of desire with the lyrics, "No I don't love you, not much."

Overall, the song conveys a complex range of emotions related to love, loss, and memories. The singer's reflection shows that the end of relationships can be challenging, but also highlights the possibility of moving on.

Line by Line Meaning

Funny, how I've stopped loving you
It's strange that I no longer feel love for you

I can pass you on the street and my heart don't skip a beat
I can see you in public and not feel any emotional reaction

Not much, so much my eyes wanna cry
Although my feelings for you have diminished, I still feel sorrow

I can listen to your name and it doesn't start a flame
Hearing your name no longer kindles any strong feelings in me

Not much, so much my heart wants to die
Even though I'm not in love with you anymore, it still causes me emotional pain

Now that you're standing here, darling, I don't shed a tear
Being in your presence no longer makes me cry

This is just the rain in my eyes
Any tears I might show are just caused by the weather or some other external factor

And if I have proved to you everything I say is true
If I've convinced you that my words are sincere

Please help me believe my own lies
I might be exaggerating or in denial about my feelings for you

And it's funny I don't miss all the heaven in your kiss
It's surprising that I don't feel nostalgic for the intimate moments we shared

Your touch, no I don't love you, not much
Even though I may still love you a little bit, my feelings are not as strong as they once were

Contributed by Emily T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

MikeBlitzMag

3y↑6

Extremely grateful that this early footage has survived. The King Cole Trio was about as good as it ever got. Magnificent.

Tom Smith

3y↑8

I was literally singing this song in the shower when you posted this! I found out it was at the same time after I got out of the shower :).

D A F

2y↑1

Check for Stanley Kirkby / Sid Phillips' version as well, for older and different flavor 😁

Judah's Lion

@Tom Smith
Neat story. Thanks for sharing.

Tom Smith

3y↑3

@Judah's Lion Yes, I largely grew up with my grandparents, and then, when I heard older music on the radio, I decided to explore it myself and learned as much about musical history as I could.

Judah's Lion

@Tom Smith
Very interesting. Cool taste of music! How old are you? Did your family influence your taste of music?

Tom Smith

3y↑1

@Judah's Lion I've always loved the music from before I was born. It's pretty much exclusively what I listen to! I'm especially a big fan of pop music from the early 1900's up to the 1960's, as well as opera.

1 More Replies...

Jade Quest

2y↑1

Thank you for this upload. I was searching for the same trio, same song 1950, but this shows more Jack Costanzo on Bongos. The 1950 clip just shows him briefly in passing.