Throughout his career he played with many famous legends like Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Sir George Martin and John Denver. Some tracks of note include The Journey (a Top 30 hit in Australia in 1993), Cross The Nullarbor and his cover of Mason Williams's Classical Gas.
Blue Moon
Tommy Emmanuel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
Blue moon!
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
The song "Blue Moon" by Tommy Emmanuel is a cover of the 1934 classic, which was composed by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The song is about a man who is standing alone under a blue moon and wishing for love. The first verse sets the scene with the man expressing his loneliness and lack of a dream or love. The chorus acknowledges that the moon knows why he's there - to find someone to care for, and suddenly he sees the one he's been looking for. The bridge describes how the moon turns to gold as he realizes his wish has come true. The final chorus joyfully declares that he's no longer alone and has found the love he's been seeking.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue moon you saw me standing alone
The singer is feeling lonely and standing by himself with no one to talk to
Without a dream in my heart
The singer has no goals or purpose in life and is feeling lost
Without a love of my own
The singer is feeling unloved and without any romantic prospects
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
The artist feels the moon understands his loneliness and pain
You heard me saying a prayer for
The artist is hoping and wishing for a lover or companion
Someone I really could care for
The singer wants a special person to love and cherish
And then there suddenly appeared before me
Out of nowhere, someone appears
The only one my arms will ever hold
The artist has found someone special to love and hold
I heard somebody whisper "Please adore me"
The new love interest asks to be loved and adored
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
The happiness and joy of finding love is like a golden moment in the artist's life
Blue moon!
The singer is no longer alone and feels the moon is now a symbol of love
Now I'm no longer alone
The artist found love and is no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
The singer now has a purpose in life, which is to love and be loved
Without a love of my own
The singer has found the love he was searching for
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mikmop
@Shawn rouse Yeah, i agree. It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges here. It's like trying to say, who is a better singer, Tom Jones or Luciano Pavarotti. There is no answer to that. Ladies have thrown their panties at both these artists.
If you're talking strictly the Chet Atkins Style, then that's a very definitive type of playing. So the way you have to look at it, is first in terms of a) The specific style. And then b) the chops (technical proficiency) within that specific style. And of course c) An extensive repertoire of original compositions. So Tommy is also a bit like Jerry Reed, in that he's written heaps of original tunes for the guitar. And thereby expanded the fingerstyle guitar repertoire of instrumental tunes written specifically for the guitar.
Tommy in his earlier years has also done electric jazz albums, Larry Carlton style, and played electric lead for other bands and done lots of TV commercials playing electric guitar as a session muso, but he's not alone in doing that. It's his fingerstyle playing that makes him stand out as the best in the world, within that style.
Chet originated and pioneered this style, but others have progressed it. Have a listen to Chet's boom chick version of House in New Orleans. Then listen to Tommy's version of House of the Rising sun'. He took that arrangement which was a little bit bubblegum and hokey like, and iterated it to version 2.0 in a more dynamic arrangement. Emil Ernebro does an awesome further advanced 3.0 version of that as well. Joe pass does a jazz arrangement, but it's a completely different thing. It's apples and oranges.
If you've ever tried to work out a Tommy tune by slowing down a recording of his performance and analysing the rhythmic subtlety and tone dynamics, you discover that there are a million different things going on there, that you never even realised. So unless you've done that level of detailed listening, you only kind of get a sense of him being better than everyone else, but you can't specifically put your finger on what that difference actually is.
People who do Tommy tutorials on YouTube like Tim Van Roy, can spend an hour just analysing these tone dynamics and rythmic subtleties on just a few bars.
There are thousands of people doing Tommy covers and many on YouTube, but no one captures the complexity of that "feel" the way Tommy does. Many advanced Fingerstyle guitarists can do a Tommy arrangement to 99% the level he plays it at, but it's that extra 1% that makes him Tommy Emmanuel.
Have a listen to the YouTube video of him playing Waltzing Matilda when he was in his early 20s. It was recorded on an Aussie TV show in the early 1980s. I even remember watching it myself at the time. Rhythmic subtlety and tone dynamics, it's all there even at that early age. I was going to his pub gigs in the early 80s and I knew even back then, one day he would become established as the greatest fingerpicker in the world.
The other thing of course is, that there is a difference between a recording artist and a live stage artist. On stage, Tommy is a showman. He tells jokes. He tells inspiring stories. He is interesting to listen to. And he's also the sort of average kind of bloke who you could sit down and have a beer with. This has nothing to do with music, but it's an aspect of this personality that also sets him apart and puts him in the league of his own. I've seen international pop stars who introduce their songs demonstrating that they can barely just string a sentence together.
If you want my two cents worth, having gone to Tommy gigs for over 40 years now, and one Chet appreciation society convention, the only person I have ever considered having the potential to one day approach the same fingerstyle virtuosity league, is this up and coming young 12 yo kid from Taiwan, Feng E. In years to come, I think he will be one to watch out for. And there are a few other young YouTube fingerpickers I think are worthy of potentially one day grabbing Tommy's virtuosity batton. Another one is 18 yo Kent Nishimura from Japan.
I also have dozens of 99% favourites who I would go out of my way to see perform live. Other Aussies I grew up going to their pub gigs were Michael Fix and Bruce Methiske. They have some really good YouTube videos. Another great young Australian fingerstyle player is Joe Robinson.
Outside Australia, some of the many great fingerpickers I've seen on YouTube who also do live shows that I'd love to see are: Emil Ernebro, Adam Rafferty, Andrea Valeri, and one quirky dude that has a genius in his own guitar style, Lucas Brar, just to name a few. And on the bass, someone I've really come to like on YouTube is Charles Berthoud. He's a young guy who has done stuff on the bass I have never heard before, or would have thought humanly possible.
None of these people are internationally famous, but they are definitely world class. But that's the great thing about YouTube, you don't need to be internationally famous, you just have to be good! And people in the world who care about these things, will get the opportunity to listen to you.
.............................................................
P.S. And if you're interested in pure vocalists, two Aussies that are not internationally famous, but are in the same league as Tom Jones and Joe Cocker, and will blow your socks off, are John Farnham and Jimmy Barnes. There are a lot of American YouTube reviewers doing reaction videos of these guys, and you can get an even better sense of who they are from them.
PapaSquat
Only a micro-percentage of guitar players have the technical skills to play at this level. An even smaller number are able create these kinds of intricate and interesting arrangements. And, as far as I can tell, there's only one guy who can do all that and perform it live with such a dynamic stage presence - and that's Tommy Emmanuel.
john baird
My sentiments exactly.
mikmop
@Shawn rouse Yeah, i agree. It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges here. It's like trying to say, who is a better singer, Tom Jones or Luciano Pavarotti. There is no answer to that. Ladies have thrown their panties at both these artists.
If you're talking strictly the Chet Atkins Style, then that's a very definitive type of playing. So the way you have to look at it, is first in terms of a) The specific style. And then b) the chops (technical proficiency) within that specific style. And of course c) An extensive repertoire of original compositions. So Tommy is also a bit like Jerry Reed, in that he's written heaps of original tunes for the guitar. And thereby expanded the fingerstyle guitar repertoire of instrumental tunes written specifically for the guitar.
Tommy in his earlier years has also done electric jazz albums, Larry Carlton style, and played electric lead for other bands and done lots of TV commercials playing electric guitar as a session muso, but he's not alone in doing that. It's his fingerstyle playing that makes him stand out as the best in the world, within that style.
Chet originated and pioneered this style, but others have progressed it. Have a listen to Chet's boom chick version of House in New Orleans. Then listen to Tommy's version of House of the Rising sun'. He took that arrangement which was a little bit bubblegum and hokey like, and iterated it to version 2.0 in a more dynamic arrangement. Emil Ernebro does an awesome further advanced 3.0 version of that as well. Joe pass does a jazz arrangement, but it's a completely different thing. It's apples and oranges.
If you've ever tried to work out a Tommy tune by slowing down a recording of his performance and analysing the rhythmic subtlety and tone dynamics, you discover that there are a million different things going on there, that you never even realised. So unless you've done that level of detailed listening, you only kind of get a sense of him being better than everyone else, but you can't specifically put your finger on what that difference actually is.
People who do Tommy tutorials on YouTube like Tim Van Roy, can spend an hour just analysing these tone dynamics and rythmic subtleties on just a few bars.
There are thousands of people doing Tommy covers and many on YouTube, but no one captures the complexity of that "feel" the way Tommy does. Many advanced Fingerstyle guitarists can do a Tommy arrangement to 99% the level he plays it at, but it's that extra 1% that makes him Tommy Emmanuel.
Have a listen to the YouTube video of him playing Waltzing Matilda when he was in his early 20s. It was recorded on an Aussie TV show in the early 1980s. I even remember watching it myself at the time. Rhythmic subtlety and tone dynamics, it's all there even at that early age. I was going to his pub gigs in the early 80s and I knew even back then, one day he would become established as the greatest fingerpicker in the world.
The other thing of course is, that there is a difference between a recording artist and a live stage artist. On stage, Tommy is a showman. He tells jokes. He tells inspiring stories. He is interesting to listen to. And he's also the sort of average kind of bloke who you could sit down and have a beer with. This has nothing to do with music, but it's an aspect of this personality that also sets him apart and puts him in the league of his own. I've seen international pop stars who introduce their songs demonstrating that they can barely just string a sentence together.
If you want my two cents worth, having gone to Tommy gigs for over 40 years now, and one Chet appreciation society convention, the only person I have ever considered having the potential to one day approach the same fingerstyle virtuosity league, is this up and coming young 12 yo kid from Taiwan, Feng E. In years to come, I think he will be one to watch out for. And there are a few other young YouTube fingerpickers I think are worthy of potentially one day grabbing Tommy's virtuosity batton. Another one is 18 yo Kent Nishimura from Japan.
I also have dozens of 99% favourites who I would go out of my way to see perform live. Other Aussies I grew up going to their pub gigs were Michael Fix and Bruce Methiske. They have some really good YouTube videos. Another great young Australian fingerstyle player is Joe Robinson.
Outside Australia, some of the many great fingerpickers I've seen on YouTube who also do live shows that I'd love to see are: Emil Ernebro, Adam Rafferty, Andrea Valeri, and one quirky dude that has a genius in his own guitar style, Lucas Brar, just to name a few. And on the bass, someone I've really come to like on YouTube is Charles Berthoud. He's a young guy who has done stuff on the bass I have never heard before, or would have thought humanly possible.
None of these people are internationally famous, but they are definitely world class. But that's the great thing about YouTube, you don't need to be internationally famous, you just have to be good! And people in the world who care about these things, will get the opportunity to listen to you.
.............................................................
P.S. And if you're interested in pure vocalists, two Aussies that are not internationally famous, but are in the same league as Tom Jones and Joe Cocker, and will blow your socks off, are John Farnham and Jimmy Barnes. There are a lot of American YouTube reviewers doing reaction videos of these guys, and you can get an even better sense of who they are from them.
Divocwax
@epf1961 Joe Pass = no stage presence.
Alijah Connor
@Mordechai Sage I would suggest Flixzone. Just google for it :)
Mordechai Sage
i know it is kind of off topic but do anyone know a good place to stream newly released movies online?
Trombonology Erstwhile
Fabulous, as always. One of Tommy's best arrangements -- just the way Count Basie's orchestra would play it, only with fifteen more guys.
eyeball
Frano, the upcoming Tommy Emanuel.
tuxguys
He even had the "Basie Ending."
Crackers2549
Tommy is unbelievable, fabulous and a great personality to go along with his virtuosity!!!