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!.
Come Rain or Come Shine
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come rain or come shine.
High as a mountain and deep as a river,
Come rain or come shine.
I guess when you met me
It was just one of those things,
But don't ever bet me,
You're gonna love me like nobody's loved me,
Come rain or come shine.
Happy together, unhappy together
And won't it be fine.
Days may be cloudy or sunny,
We're in or we're out of the money,
But I'm with you always,
I'm with you rain or shine.
The song “Come Rain or Come Shine” by Anita O’Day is a testament to the depth of the singer’s devotion to her beloved. The lyrics convey her undying love and commitment to him, regardless of the circumstances. She promises to love him like nobody else, standing by his side through thick and thin. His love has reached her heart to the extent that she cannot imagine living without him.
The opening words, "I'm gonna love you like nobody's loved you", express her intention to give him the love and devotion that nobody else can give. She further extends her promises later in the song with “You’re gonna love me like nobody’s loved me,” indicating a mutual exchange of unconditional love.
The line "Days may be cloudy or sunny, We're in or we're out of the money" depicts the idea that despite the ups and downs of life, they will remain together, united in love. The phrase "unhappy together" asserts that despite the tough times their love has the power to sustain them. The final lines, "I'm with you always, I'm with you rain or shine" emphasize her unequivocal and unwavering devotion.
Overall, the lyrics of “Come Rain or Come Shine” evoke the promise of eternal love through life's many ups and downs.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna love you like nobody's loved you,
I will show you the greatest love and affection that nobody in the world has ever shown you before.
Come rain or come shine.
No matter the circumstances, I will always love you.
High as a mountain and deep as a river,
My love for you is limitless, as deep as a river and as high as a mountain.
Come rain or come shine.
Again, I promise to love you no matter what.
I guess when you met me
Maybe when we met, it was by chance or circumstance.
It was just one of those things,
Our meeting might have been arbitrary or unexpected.
But don't ever bet me,
But never doubt me or take me for granted.
"Cause I'm gonna be true if you let me.
I will be loyal to you, provided you give me the chance to prove it.
You're gonna love me like nobody's loved me,
I am confident that you will reciprocate the love I give you with an equal amount of affection that you have never given anyone else before.
Come rain or come shine.
Again, no matter what happens, I know you will love me back.
Happy together, unhappy together
Whether we are happy or sad, we will face it together.
And won't it be fine.
And the fact that we will face things together will be amazing.
Days may be cloudy or sunny,
Our days together may not always be perfect, and there will be ups and downs.
We're in or we're out of the money,
Our financial situation may not always be stable.
But I'm with you always,
But no matter what happens, I will always be by your side.
I'm with you rain or shine.
Again, no matter the circumstances, I will always be there for you.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, S.A. MUSIC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
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)