To Go On
If you see a hawk
on a bough at field's edge
beyond the corner you should
have turned
maybe it's a sign to go on.
Such as during an
improvisation on
Flamingo or I've Got You
Under My Skin
you play in the wrong key or
mode completely
maybe it's a sign to go on,
in the wrong key.
Or when my sons cry not
wanting
to be alone, I'm upstairs
writing
or just enjoying trees in
every direction
it too may be a sign to go
on alone.
"Flamingo" is a jazz standard written by Ted Grouya. According to Herb Jeffries, who was performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, “I was going out for dinner and this little guy stops me at the stage door. He says, in a French accent, ‘Monsieur Jeffries, I am Ted Grouya. The doorman would not let me in. Please, show my song to Monsieur Ellington.’ I said, `All right,’ and I put his music in my pocket. Later, I set it on my dressing-room table.” Arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn saw the music, took it over to the piano and began playing it. Ellington heard him and said, “Whatever you’re playing, make a chart of it.” Edmund Anderson added lyrics, and it became the last song Ellington needed for his 28 December 28 recording session for RCA Victor. It became Ellington’s 1st number to hit the charts in 1941 and one of his favorite recordings, claiming it was "the renaissance of vocal orchestration. Before then, an orchestration for a singer was usually something pretty tepid, and it was just background --that’s about all. But now, this had real ornamentation, fittingly done, supporting the singer and also embellishing the entire performance of both the singer and the band.” Jeffries once remarked, “Most people come to this world by stork. I came by Flamingo, and Duke Ellington delivered me. And it’s flown me all over the world.”
ReplyDeleteFlamingo, like a flame in the sky
Flying over the island
To my lover nearby
Flamingo, with your tropical hue
For it's you I rely on
And the love that is true
The wind sings a song to you as you go
The song that I hear below
The murmuring heart
Flamingo, when the sun meets the sea
Say farewell to my lover
And hasten to me
Ah, oh, ah, oh, oh, oh
Flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingo, when the sun meets the sea
Say farewell to my lover
And hasten to me
Ah, oh, oh, oh, oh, ah
Cole Porter wrote "I've Got You Under My Skin" in 1936 and was introduced by Virginia Bruce in the movie "Born to Dance." A decade later Frank Sinatra performed a Nelson Riddle-arranged version on his weekly radio show; he later recorded it for his 1963 album "Sinatra's Sinatra," "Sinatra at the Sands" (1966), and "Duets" (1993).
ReplyDeleteI've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin
I tried so not to give in
I said to myself, this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist when, darling, I know so well
I've got you under my skin
I'd sacrifice anything, come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats and repeats in my ear
Don't you know, silly fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
Cause I've got you under my skin