It’s Sunday and that means it’s time for Song Lyric Sunday!
This week Jim Adams has asked his readers in his post “Spirits”
to write about a song that mentions drinks or cocktails.
Theme suggested by Di at pensitivity101.wordpress.com. Here is my reply.
Pull up a stool and start running a tab, because we’re diving into a very popular topic in the music world: booze.
Drinking is practically a worldwide pastime. After all, Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Frank Sinatra once said, “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the Bible says to love your enemy.” And then, there’s the greatest quote about alcohol by the legendary comic actor W.C. Fields: “I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted”!
Whether it’s beer or wine or the hard stuff, there are countless songs about drinking. Some of these songs are upbeat, while others are dark. Some are joyous while others are sorrowful. Regardless, many have resonated with fans spanning multiple generations.
I’m not much of a drinker; while I do occasionally enjoy a glass of wine 🍷, a very dirty martini with extra olives🍸 , a spicy Bloody Mary 🍹 or an ice cold Stella Artois 🍺 on a hot summer day, more than one of any of those libations would wipe me out.
I took some time to explore songs about drinking through a variety of different lenses, from love ballads to cautionary tunes of heartache and everything in between. At the end of it all, when it comes to drinking, most people just want to unwind, have a good time and forget about whatever troubles they’re dealing with.
Not so my featured song today … a classic jazz number from 1938 called “You Go To My Head” which artfully compares the effects of love and drink. There are quite a few versions of the song and I’ve heard most of them; none, in my opinion, come close to Billie Holiday.
Born April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Billie Holiday was a superstar of her day. She first rose to prominence in the 1930’s with a unique style that reinvented the conventions of modern singing and performance. More than 80 years after making her first recording, Billie’s legacy continues to embody what is elegant and cool in contemporary music. Billie’s complicated life and genre-defining autobiography “Lady Sings the Blues” made her a cultural icon. The evocative, soulful voice which she boldly put forth as a force for good, turned any song she sang into her own. Today, Billie Holiday is remembered for her musical masterpieces, her songwriting skills, creativity and courageous views on inequality and justice. To read more about the extraordinary life of Billie Holiday, please follow this link.
Three different recordings of “You Go to My Head” by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie made the Top 20 list in 1938: Billie Holiday’s version was one of them. Written after a long night at a local speakeasy, the song’s melody can be played as bright and effervescent or as introspective and melancholy. The song has been featured in the movies Laura (1944) and The Big Sleep (1946).
I’ve been in love with “You Go To My Head” since the first time I heard it as a young teenager. It’s a sophisticated jazz piece about love and booze … a very unusual choice for a 13 or 14 year old girl who didn’t know anything about either subject. Somehow I knew this song was much more than a ditty about drinks and love. It’s also the first song with an adult theme which I memorized and practiced singing. I’m sure no matter how many times I performed this song later in life, I never sounded as cool and classy as Billie Holiday.
This is “You Go To My Head” by Billie Holiday
LYRICS
You go to my head
And you linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning round in my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
You go to my head
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
And I find the very mention of you
Like the kicker in a julep or two
The thrill of the thought
That you might give a thought to my plea
Casts a spell over me
Still I say to myself, “Get a hold of yourself”
Can’t you see that it never can be?
You go to my head
With a smile that makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand Julys
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Though I’m certain that this heart of mine
Hasn’t a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance
You go to my head
You go to my head
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: J. Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie
You Go to My Head lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Toy Town Tunes Inc, Toy Town Tunes, Inc., John F. Coots Jr. Trust Music
Producer(s): John Hammond, Bernie Hanighen
Vocal: Billie Holiday
Composer, Lyricist: J.F. Coots/H. Gillespie
Guitar: Danny Barker
Drums: Cozy Cole
Re-Mastering Engineer(s): Seth Foster, Mark Wilder
Piano: Billy Kyle
Saxophone: Babe Russin
Clarinet: Buster Bailley
Trumpet: Charlie Shavers
Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and to Di for a terrific theme suggestion! Be sure to follow the links and check out their sites.
Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎
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