Few female jazz singers matched the hard-swinging and equally hard-living Anita O'Day for sheer exuberance and talent in all areas of jazz vocals. Her improvising, wide dynamic tone, and innate sense of rhythm made her more than just another big-band canary. At a time when most female vocals tended to emphasize the sweet timbres of their voice, she chose to emphasize a path blazed by the one major jazz singer who emphasized message over medium - Billie Holiday. Like Holiday, O'Day combined the soaring freedom of jazz instrumentalist with the storytelling lyricism of a poet.
After making her solo debut in the mid-'40s she incorporated bop modernism into her vocals and recorded over a dozen of the best vocal LPs of the era.
During the late Forties, she recorded two dozen sides, mostly for small labels. The quality of these singles varies: O'Day was trying to achieve popular success without sacrificing her identity as a jazz singer. Among the more notable recordings from this period are "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip", "Key Largo", "How High the Moon", and "Malaguena". O'Day's drug problems began to surface late in 1947, when she and husband Carl Hoff were arrested for possession of marijuana and sentenced to 90 days in jail. Her career was back on the upswing in September of 1948, when she sang with Count Basie at the Royal Roost in New York City, resulting in five airchecks. What secured O'Day's place in the jazz pantheon, however, are the seventeen albums she recorded for Verve between 1956 and 1962.
Her first album, Anita O'Day Sings Jazz (reissued as The Lady Is a Tramp), was recorded in 1956 for the newly established Verve Records (it was also the label's first LP). The album was a critical success and further boosted her popularity. In October of 1952 O'Day was again arrested for possession of marijuana, but found not guilty. The following March, she was arrested for possession of heroin. The case dragged on for most of 1953; O'Day was finally sentenced to six months in jail. Not long after her release from jail on February 25, 1954, she began work on her second album, Songs by Anita O'Day (reissued as An Evening with Anita O'Day). She recorded steadily throughout the Fifties, accompanied by small combos and big bands. In person, O'Day was generally backed by a trio which included the drummer with whom she would work for the next 40 years, John Poole.
As a live performer O'Day also began performing in festivals and concerts with such musicians as Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Dinah Washington, George Shearing, Cal Tjader, and Thelonious Monk. She appeared in the documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival which increased her popularity. The following year O'Day made a cameo appearance in The Gene Krupa Story , singing "Memories of You". Late in 1959 she toured Europe with Benny Goodman; according to her autobiography, when Goodman's attempts to upstage her failed to diminish the audience's enthusiasm, he cut all but two of her numbers from the show.
After the Goodman fiasco, O'Day went back to touring as a solo artist. She recorded infrequently after the expiration of her Verve contract in 1962 and her career seemed over when she nearly died of a heroin overdose in 1968. After kicking the habit, she made a comeback at the 1970 Berlin Jazz Festival. She also appeared in the films Zig Zag (1970) and The Outfit (1974). She resumed making live and studio albums, many recorded in Japan, and several were released on her own label, Emily Records.
O'Day spoke candidly about her drug addiction in her 1981 memoir, High Times, Hard Times.
Her version of the standard, "Sing, Sing, Sing" was remixed by RSL and was included in the compilation album Verve Remixed 3 in 2005.
2006 saw her first album release in 13 years, entitled Indestructible!.
Close Your Eyes
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
something dreamy for dancing
while we're here romancing
It's love's holiday
And Love will be our guide
Close your Eyes
When you open them dear
So
Close your eyes
rest your head on my shoulder and sleep
Close your eyes
And I will close mine
Close your eyes
Let's pretend that we're both counting sheep
Close your eyes
This is divine
Music play
something dreamy for dancing
while were here romancing
It's love's holiday
And Love will be our guide
Close your Eyes
When you open them dear
I'll be near by your side
So won't you close your eyes
?
Anita O'Day's song "Close Your Eyes" is a beautiful love song that is all about being swept away by romance. The lyrics encourage the listener to let go of their worries and troubles and focus on love. The opening lines are an invitation to the listener to let the music transport them into a dreamy state, encouraging dancing and romance. The idea of love being a holiday indicates the idea of escaping from the everyday, and O'Day suggests that love will be the guide that brings the listener to that special place.
The chorus of the song is a simple but powerful message, asking the listener to close their eyes and to trust that the singer will be there for them, providing comfort and support. It's a reminder that love is something to be trusted and that in the arms of one who truly loves, you can let go of your fears. The next verse brings the suggestion that the listener is so comfortable in the singer's embrace that they can easily fall asleep in it. The pastoral idea of counting sheep is introduced indicating the safety and peace being inside in love's embrace provides.
Overall, the song is an invitation to let go of oneself and be completely vulnerable in love. It suggests that in surrendering to love, we find the freedom to be our true selves and find a place where we feel safe, happy, and content.
Line by Line Meaning
Music play
Let's listen to some music
something dreamy for dancing
Let's dance to some slow, romantic music
while we're here romancing
While we're enjoying our romantic moment together
It's love's holiday
Let's celebrate our love
And Love will be our guide
Let's let our love guide us
Close your Eyes
Please close your eyes
When you open them dear
When you open your eyes, my dear
I'll be right hear by your side
I'll be right here next to you
So
Therefore
Close your eyes
Please close your eyes
rest your head on my shoulder and sleep
Rest your head on my shoulder and sleep peacefully
Close your eyes
Please close your eyes
And I will close mine
I will also close my eyes
Close your eyes
Please close your eyes
Let's pretend that we're both counting sheep
Let's pretend we're both peacefully falling asleep
Close your eyes
Please close your eyes
This is divine
This moment is beyond beautiful
Music play
Let's listen to some music
something dreamy for dancing
Let's dance to some slow, romantic music
while were here romancing
While we're enjoying our romantic moment together
It's love's holiday
Let's celebrate our love
And Love will be our guide
Let's let our love guide us
Close your Eyes
Please close your eyes
When you open them dear
When you open your eyes, my dear
I'll be near by your side
I'll be close by your side
So won't you close your eyes
Therefore, won't you please close your eyes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICHARD MAINEGRA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aceiseverywhere
on Who Cares?
Let it rain and thunder
Let a million firms go under
I am not concerned with, stocks and bombs that I've been burned with
I love you and you love me
And that's how it will always be
And nothing else can ever mean a thing
Who cares what the public chatters?
Love's the only thing that matters
Who cares if the sky, cares to fall
in the sea
Who cares how history rates me?
As long as your kiss intoxicates me
Oh why should I care?
Life is one long jubilee
As long as I care for you
And you care for me!
Who cares if the sky, cares to fall
in the sea
Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers?
As long as you've got a kiss that conquers!
Oh why should I care?
Life is one long jubilee
So long as I care for you
and you care for me!
(These lyrics might be wrong, sorry)