Today’s song and performer brings us a tale of an Anglophile. Caroll Gibbons was born and raised in Massachusetts, but life gave him an early opportunity to study in London. It seems a single taste of the city was not enough for Gibbons, as he returned in 1924 and got to play at the Savoy Hotel. He became the co-leader of the Hotel Orpheans and outright leader of the New MayFair Orchestra. The 1930s became quite the active decade for Gibbons, as he came back to the USA ever so briefly to compose for MGM films. His true home, however, was the UK and he became sole leader of the Orpheans. After his bright star had faded somewhat, Gibbons would marry in 1951, but pass away from a heart attack in 1954. “Better Think Twice” hails from his most successful and prolific artistic period.
The speed and energy of “Better Think Twice” is a key tool for the Orpheans to hook the listener. The vocals don’t take too much time to appear, and sing of a love that may or may not be ending. The singer implores his sweetheart to “think twice” before calling things over and done. After all, she knows “what she’s got” with him. As for how to think through the relationship, with all its complexities? The singer has an easy answer: “stop and count to ten”. Such wisdom. If it works for a temper-tantrum, surely it must solve a near break-up. Are we, the listeners, meant to think that this singer is shallow, preferring to gloss over the bad in his relationship? Or is he really confident that what he’s got going is so special that easy pondering is going to draw his sweetie back? In any case, this is still a fun song. After all, there have been oh so many “don’t say it’s over” songs in its wake, the subject matter can hardly be held against it.
Music Through the Mists of Time 