This Can't Be Love
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.

This Can't Be Love
The Nat King Cole Trio Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

As recorded by Nat King Cole, who didn't make the Top 100
Words by Lorenz Hart and Music by Richard Rogers and sung in the Broadway
musical "The Boys From Syracuse" by Eddie Albert and Marcy Westcott
A # 6 hit for Horace Heidt in 1938
A # 2 hit for Benny Goodman in 1939


This can't be love, because I feel so well,
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs.
This can't be love; I get no dizzy spells,
My head is not in the skies.

My heart does not stand still, just hear it beat.
This is too sweet to be love.

This can't be love, because I feel so well,
But still I love to look in your eyes.

(Instrumental interlude)

My heart does not stand still, just hear it beat.
This is too sweet to be love.

This can't be love, because I feel so well,




But still I love to look in your eyes.
Still I love to look in your eyes.

Overall Meaning

The Nat King Cole Trio's song "This Can't Be Love," is a classic example of the American Songbook standards that captivated audiences and maintained relevancy long after the era of the big band. The song's lyrics, penned by Lorenz Hart and music composed by Richard Rogers, conveys a sense of disbelief about the feeling of love. Cole sings about not experiencing the typical symptoms of love, like heart palpitations, feeling lightheaded, or emotional turmoil. Instead, he feels content and happy in the presence of his beloved.


However, Cole still cannot help but stare into his lover's eyes, despite his supposed disbelief in love, suggesting that his skepticism of love is fleeting. The instrumental interlude following the second stanza allows the listener to bask in the delightful melody and the musicianship of Cole's trio.


Interestingly, the song initially did not perform well upon its release, and it took other artists recording and popularizing the tune before it became a hit. "This Can't Be Love" first charted in 1938, reaching #6 by the Horace Heidt orchestra, and it was later recorded by Benny Goodman, becoming a #2 hit in 1939. Nat King Cole's recording did not make the Top 100; however, it remains a definitive rendition, exemplifying the effortless joy that characterized Cole's vocal performances.


Line by Line Meaning

This can't be love, because I feel so well,
I cannot be in love because I do not have the typical symptoms of heartache or pain.


No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs.
I am not experiencing the expected negative emotions often associated with love.


This can't be love; I get no dizzy spells,
As there is no feeling of dizziness or lightheadedness, it is impossible to be love.


My head is not in the skies.
I am not feeling overly romantic or hopeful about the possibility of love.


My heart does not stand still, just hear it beat.
Although it is not love, my heart is still beating fast and furiously in the presence of the person I am referring to.


This is too sweet to be love.
Despite not being love, the emotions I am experiencing are still overwhelming and enjoyable.


But still I love to look in your eyes.
Even though it is not love, I still enjoy looking at the person I am referring to.


(Instrumental interlude)
No words are sung during this portion of the song.


My heart does not stand still, just hear it beat.
Although it is not love, my heart is still beating fast and furiously in the presence of the person I am referring to.


This is too sweet to be love.
Despite not being love, the emotions I am experiencing are still overwhelming and enjoyable.


But still I love to look in your eyes.
Even though it is not love, I still enjoy looking at the person I am referring to.


Still I love to look in your eyes.
I continue to delight in gazing into the eyes of the person I am referring to.




Contributed by John J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

HandyAndy Tech Tips

This is gold! Amazing footage. I can't believe that such old clips of this show still exist - obviously the US were better at archiving their old programs than the UK or Australia.

dougmilesmedia

Nat was an all time great! Never did a song that didn't fit his style. Always brilliant.

Tom Smith

I hope you will also post "Answer Me, My Love" from this episode, by Nat! It was a really big hit.

Bruce Scott

"This Can't Be Love" was also on a ten-inch LP entitled NAT "KING" COLE SINGS FOR TWO IN LOVE (Capitol H-420), with the music of NELSON RIDDLE, which was released on July 27th,1953. The twelve-inch LP version (Capitol T-420) was released on November 21st, 1955.

Yucef(TAPAS66)

An incredible video of an incredible singer, but at the same time it's sad to know all the Racism on those years.

Mark Rauson

Nat king Cole cool suave debinare classy smooth fits Nat king Cole just right

Gilberto Basilio

With Tune weavers that song was also very bezutiful in 1960.

george

𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨!!!

David PromovareFirme

Te pup Maria Dorobanțu !

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