You Are My Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine 

The other night, as I lay sleepin'
Dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke dar, I was mistaken'
An' I hung my head an' cried

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

I'll always love you an' make you happy
If you will only say th same
But if you leave me for another
You'll regret it all some day

You told me once't dear, you really loved me
An' no one else could come between
But now you left me for another
You have scattered all my dreams

via Missouri State University

NOTES: Simple, mundane objects of experience so ubiquitous as sunshine make for a connection to love so strong and profound that it is nearly impossible to be without. The song brings our imagination to a place that hinges between one with sunshine and one without - we teeter totter between the real and imagined state of being without our love, our sunshine, our home which keeps us feeling whole. Phrased in the past tense, we get a sense of time and memory which both strengthen and distort our story as time goes on. Maybe someone is sitting in their kitchen, alone, looking at the old counter top and imagining how it once was - simple, mundane, whole. 

The audio version by Ollie Gilbert, recorded in 1971 is the most simple - a single voice singing, a cough, textured vocal tones free of context - and distills the meaning of the song to the listener, who is free to connect with their own particular experience and place. Her sound speaks to her age and experience distilled and expressed. In contrast, Jimmie Davis' version is more orchestrated and embedded in the style and tones of the peppy clarinet flourish, muted trumpet, and idyllic guitar strums - this version speaks to Jimmie Davis' particular time and place. Gene Autry's version further smoothes out the roughness of the tune with straight kept time. Still, the meter and meaning of the words in all versions endure and is enough to convey a particular experience.