William Galison is an American jazz musician, most famous as a harmonica pl… Read Full Bio ↴William Galison is an American jazz musician, most famous as a harmonica player but also known as a multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer.

Galison was born and raised in New York City, New York. As a child, he started to study piano, but at the age of eight decided to switch to guitar having been inspired by The Beatles. He developed a love of jazz in high school and subsequently attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He decided to change to the harmonica because "I was one of a million guitarists at Berklee" and it was easy to carry around. He became Berklee's only harmonica player. Among his role models at the time were Toots Thielemans and Stevie Wonder.

After Berklee, he studied further at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, then returned to New York in 1982. He swiftly developed a good reputation as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.
He performed at various New York venues including The Village Gate, The Blue Note and the Lone Star Cafe with legendary jazz musicians Jaco Pastorius and Jaki Byard. He also played with his own group at Preacher's Cafe in Greenwich Village.

Galison has worked with a diverse range of artists including Carly Simon, Sting, Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee, Chaka Khan and Astrud Gilberto. He has performed Gordon Jacob's "Suite for Harmonica and Orchestra" and toured the USA in the Broadway musical, Big River. He has also recorded soundtracks for films, most notably Academy Award nominees The Untouchables and Bagdad Café. His harmonica is also heard on the Sesame Street theme ("a great honor") and countless commercials. Other television work includes Oz and Saturday Night Live
One of his major influences and role models, Toots Thielmans, once described him as "the most original and individual of the new generation of harmonica players".

Got You On My Mind
William Galison Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've got you on my mind
I'm feeling kind of sad and low
Got you on my mind
Feeling kind of sad and low

I'm wondering where you are
Wondering why you had to go

Tears begin to fall
Every time I hear your name
Tears begin to fall
Every time I hear your name

But since you went away
Nothing seems to be the same

No matter how I try
My heart keeps telling me that I
Can't forget you
If ever it should be
That you want to come back to me
I'm gonna let you

I've got you on my mind
I'm feeling kind of sad and low
Got you on my mind
Feeling kind of sad and low

I'm wondering where you are
Wondering why you had to go

No matter how I try
My heart keeps telling me that I
Can't forget you
If ever it should be
That you want to come back to me
I'm gonna let you

I've got you on my mind
I'm feeling kind of sad and low
Got you on my mind
Feeling kind of sad and low

I'm wondering where you are
Wondering why you had to go

I'm wondering where you are
Wondering why you had to go

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of William Galison & Madeleine Peyroux's song "Got You on My Mind" express a sense of melancholy that comes with the memory of a lost love. The singer is troubled by thoughts of their former lover, a presence they are unable to shake off. Every time they hear the name of their lost love, they are left with tears streaming down their face. Despite this longing pain, their heart tells them that forgetting their lover is not an option. The singer is willing to hope and believe that if their lover ever wants to return, they will be ready to embrace them with open arms. The repetition of the lyrics "I've got you on my mind" and "Feeling kind of sad and low" emphasizes the singer's inability to move on from their past love.

The song captures the raw, painful emotions of missing someone who was once an important part of one's life. It is a tribute to the lingering effect of loss and the difficulty in letting go. The message conveys that though the pain of parting may never fully disappear, there is still hope and longing for an eventual reunion.

Line by Line Meaning

I've got you on my mind
I can't stop thinking about you

I'm feeling kind of sad and low
Your absence is bringing me down

Got you on my mind
You are constantly on my thoughts

Feeling kind of sad and low
My emotions are negatively affected by your absence

I'm wondering where you are
I don't know your current location

Wondering why you had to go
I don't understand why you left

Tears begin to fall
I cry when I hear about you or think of you

Every time I hear your name
Your name triggers sadness in me

But since you went away
Ever since you left

Nothing seems to be the same
My life has changed without you

No matter how I try
Despite my efforts