The San Francisco-based trio was first formed around 1954, then in a piano-guitar-bass configuration. Starting with the release of the group's self-titled debut album on Fantasy in 1956, Guaraldi would remain on the label for some time. Guaraldi's early recordings were decidedly low-key and morose compared to the work for which he would become famous, but his trademark melancholy and distinctive instrumental voicings, including his deep basslines, were indelible parts of his aesthetic framework from the very beginning.
Influenced by the Brazilian film Black Orpheus (1959)--whose soundtrack was a large part of the impending Bossa nova craze--the trio recorded the album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962), having by this point settled into their now familiar piano-bass-drums lineup. The album featured renditions of songs from the film, as well as a number of originals; one such song was "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" which would, within a year, become one of the most commercially successful jazz instrumentals of its time, notably winning a Grammy for Best Instrumental Song. Several vocal versions (with lyrics by Carel Werber) would also achieve significant success.
It was thanks to Guaraldi's hit song that he was discovered by Lee Mendelson who wanted him to write music for Peanuts animation. Guaraldi's first Peanuts assignment was the music for the ill-fated Schulz documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Though the special was never aired and remained unavailable to the public for several decades, the music was released as the album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1964). For later reissues, the album was retroactively renamed after the documentary.
Despite a troubled production process, 1965 saw the premiere of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Guaraldi's ground-breaking amalgamation of Christmas music and his own unique brand of jazz was an inexorable part of the special's unforeseen success; the soundtrack, featuring originals alongside Guaraldi's interpretations of standards, continues to amass impressive sales even now. One of the songs from the special, "Linus and Lucy" (featured in the special's famous "dancing scene"), would become the de facto theme of Peanuts animations, often mistakenly referred to as the "Peanuts Theme". Another song on the soundtrack, "Christmas Time Is Here" (with lyrics by Mendelson), has become a Christmas standard in its own right.
With the passing of the '60s, Guaraldi began experimenting more and more with different sonic textures for his music, having all but replaced his acoustic piano with various electronic keyboards, most notably the Fender Rhodes. Consequently, Guaraldi would, less and less, perform and record within the context of a trio. While it was never "officially" disbanded, and Guaraldi still used this configuration from time to time, the group inevitably dissolved upon Guaraldi's untimely death in 1976.
Peanuts specials made subsequent to his death often reuse Guaraldi's recordings, or original music inspired heavily by Guaraldi's iconic scores; a testament to his importance to the identity of Peanuts. More importantly, generations of people have cited Guaraldi's inventive and playful jazz as their formative experience with the genre, imbuing a spark of the love of jazz in untold numbers of listeners that only seem to increase the more time goes by.
Yesterdays
Vince Guaraldi Trio Lyrics
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Days I knew as happy
Sweet sequester days
Olden days, golden days
Days of mad romance and love
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
Joyous free and flaming life
Sad am I, glad am I
For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays
Yesterdays, yesterdays
Days I knew as happy
Sweet sequester days
Olden days, golden days
Days of mad romance and love
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
Joyous free and flaming life
Forsooth, was mine
Sad am I, glad am I
For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays
Yesterdays, yesterdays
Days I knew as happy
Sweet sequester days
Olden days, golden days
Days of mad romance and love
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
Joyous free and flaming life
Forsooth, was mine
Sad am I, glad am I
For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays
Yesterdays
The lyrics to Vince Guaraldi Trio's Yesterdays speaks of longing for and reminiscing about the past. The first stanza of the song mentions happy times that were experienced long ago, describing them as "sweet sequester days". The use of the word "sequester" implies that these happy times were isolated or hidden away from the present, adding to the nostalgia and longing for the past. The second stanza depicts a time when the singer was young and free, suggesting that their current state is one of sadness and a yearning for those days when they were carefree and full of life. The final stanza is essentially a repetition of the first, emphasizing the singer's longing for the past.
The lyrics of this song convey a sense of longing and yearning for the past, and the mournful tune adds to its bittersweet tone. The repeated phrase "yesterdays" serves as a reminder that time moves forward and the past cannot be reclaimed. The line "Sad am I, glad am I" shows the complex nature of nostalgia, where one can simultaneously feel a sense of sadness for what has been lost but also a fondness for the memories. The use of the past tense throughout the song emphasizes that these happy times are now over and can only be remembered.
Overall, Yesterdays is a melancholic tribute to days gone by and the wistfulness that comes with remembering them.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterdays, yesterdays
Reminiscing about the good old days, repeating the word 'yesterday'
Days I knew as happy
Those days were filled with joy and contentment
Sweet sequester days
Days of peaceful solitude and tranquility
Olden days, golden days
Referring to the past as a time of great fortune and prosperity
Days of mad romance and love
Days filled with passionate and intense love affairs
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine
I was young and carefree, and everything seemed pure and true
Joyous free and flaming life
My life was full of excitement and passion, completely free and unrestrained
Forsooth, was mine
In truth, it was all mine and I owned it completely
Sad am I, glad am I
Experiencing a mix of emotions, both happy and sad
For today I’m dreaming of yesterdays
Longing for the past and wishing to relive those happy days
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: JEROME KERN, OTTO HARBACH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patte
This song was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach, and is from their 1933 musical "Roberta".
David Hahn
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