Ain't nobody's business if I do.
I love music. A lot. Like, a lot alot. My iTunes playlist if chocked full of music across all genres, eras, and continents. Lately my "Recently Played" playlist has been filled with some delicious treats from Billie Holiday. There is something exquisite about her voice - tone, phrasing and soulfulness - that speaks to me. When I listen to her music it moves me, physically and emotionally.
Many of Holiday's songs, like many songs form her era, are torch songs - songs filled with longing. The lyrics of these songs speak to the lengths to which the singer is willing to go for love. Romantic, no?
Recently I was listening to one particular Holiday track on repeat, and frolicking in the melancholy pooling in my heart when I stumbled upon these lyrics:
I'd rather my man would hit me,
Than for him to jump up and quit me,
Ain't nobody's business if I do.
I swear I won't call no copper,
If I'm beat up by my papa,
Ain't nobodys business if I do.
WHAT THE FRACK!!?!?!?!
I'd rather my man would hit me,
Than for him to jump up and quit me,
Ain't nobody's business if I do.
I swear I won't call no copper,
If I'm beat up by my papa,
Ain't nobodys business if I do.
WHAT THE FRACK!!?!?!?!
Needless to say these lyrics gave me pause. What does it say about me that songs in this vein, and this song in particular move me so much? I'd like to think that I'm moved by the sentiment that love is worth fighting for, but going to the hospital for? It's shocking really that this song isn't an anomaly in the cannon of torch songs, but the standard.
Etta James, I'd Rather Go Blind
I would rather, I would rather go blind boy
Than to see you, walk away from me chile.
Edith Piaf, L'Hymne à L'Amour
I would rather, I would rather go blind boy
Than to see you, walk away from me chile.
Edith Piaf, L'Hymne à L'Amour
The blue sky above us could collapse
And the earth could well fall to pieces
Matters little to me if you love me
Ella Fitzgerald, When a Woman Loves A Man
Tell her, she's a fool.
She'll say, "Yes, I know.
But I love him so."
And that's how it goes
"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" from the musical Show Boat
Music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
He can come home as late at can be
Home without him ain't no home to me
Can't help loving dat man of mine
Home without him ain't no home to me
Can't help loving dat man of mine
Songs like these, and their modern counterparts, beg the question - What are we willing to do for love? And is gaining love worth losing yourself? And if it's love, should it hurt? If it hurts, is it love? And most importantly, is it anybody's business but your own?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
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