The One I Love
The Paul Desmond Quartet Lyrics


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When days are long and nights are lonely
And all my daydreams have gone astray
I think about the one and only
Who's bound to find me some golden day

The one I love is coming along some day
And I'll have none except the one I love
He/She may be near or ever so far away
But I'll have none except the one I love

And though our meeting is left to chance
Until our meeting
I still will have my dream romance




And through the night I pray to the moon above
To please be kind and find the one I love

Overall Meaning

The Paul Desmond Quartet's song, "The One I Love," is a poignant ballad that speaks of yearning for a lover who has not yet arrived. The lyrics describe a state of longing for the one true love. The lyrics are about loneliness, daydreams gone astray, and the hope for a future where the one true love enters the life.


In the first verse, the singer describes how their days are long and nights are lonely, and they long for someone to love. The singer thinks about the one true love who is bound to find them someday. The second verse speaks of the hope for the future and the belief that the one true love will come along someday. The singer talks about how they will have no one but the one true love and that person may be near or far away.


The third verse speaks about the waiting and the uncertain nature of finding the one true love. The singer believes that the meeting is left to chance and that until then, they will continue to dream and hope for their romance to come true. The song ends with the singer praying to the moon above, asking for the one true love to arrive.


Overall, this song speaks of a universal human experience, the hope and desire to find true love. It expresses the longing for a fulfilling romantic relationship and the belief that it will eventually happen.


Line by Line Meaning

When days are long and nights are lonely
During the day, time feels as though it passes by slowly leaving me with nothing but loneliness at night.


And all my daydreams have gone astray
All of my hopes and dreams have disappeared without a clear destination or purpose.


I think about the one and only
I think about the only person who can make everything right in my life.


Who's bound to find me some golden day
The one I love is destined to find me when I am ready to share golden days with them.


The one I love is coming along some day
I know that the person I love will find me eventually, and when they do, I'll be ready.


And I'll have none except the one I love
I won't settle for anyone else; only the person I love will be with me for eternity.


He/She may be near or ever so far away
The one I love could be close, but they could also be far away.


But I'll have none except the one I love
I'll wait patiently for the one I love, and I won't be with anyone else until they arrive.


And though our meeting is left to chance
I don't know when I'll meet the one I love. Everything is out of my control, and all I can do is wait until we meet.


Until our meeting
Until fate brings us together, I'll keep dreaming of the day we'll meet.


I still will have my dream romance
I'll still have my ideal love story in my mind, and I'll keep my heart open for the one I love.


And through the night I pray to the moon above
At night, I pray to the moon high above, hoping that fate will bring me closer to the one I love.


To please be kind and find the one I love
I ask that fate be kind and bring me closer to the one I love, so we can be together forever.




Lyrics © HAL LEONARD CORPORATION , Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRONISLAW KAPER, GUS KAHN, WALTER JURMANN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@franguccio1

Somehow, I always come back to Paul Desmond. That West coast cool never leaves me.

@poofsru

Cant believe theres no comments... absolutely beautiful

@1TimothyFourTen

I always take that to mean I've come upon a hidden gem.

@paulhughes525

His tone on an alto is unsurpassed. Perhaps equalled by Art Pepper for emotional intensity but never bettered.

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