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!.
Deep in the Blue
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
I forgive you, 'cause I can't forget you
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
[Repeat: x2]
I ought to cross you off my list
But when you come a-knocking at my door
And I come running back for more
I should hate you, but I guess I love you
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
The devil and the deep blue sea
The lyrics of Anita O'Day's song "Deep in the Blue" explore the complexities of a deeply conflicted and tumultuous relationship. The singer starts by acknowledging that they do not want their partner, but at the same time, they fear losing them. This paradoxical situation is likened to being stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, caught in a difficult and uncertain position.
Despite feeling hurt and betrayed, the singer admits to forgiving their partner because they cannot forget them. This suggests that even though they may want to move on, there is an undeniable attachment and emotional dependency that keeps them hooked. They feel trapped between conflicting emotions of love and resentment, symbolized by the devil and the deep blue sea respectively.
The repetition of the lines reinforces the inner struggle of the singer. They know they should remove their partner from their life and move on, but every time their partner returns, their heart is swayed, and they find themselves unable to resist the temptation. The singer expresses feeling torn between hating their partner for the pain they have caused, yet deep down, they still harbor love for them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Deep in the Blue" paint a vivid picture of the emotional turmoil experienced in a complicated relationship, where love and frustration coexist, leaving the singer caught between desire and self-preservation.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want you, but I'd hate to lose you
I am conflicted because even though I don't desire you, the thought of losing you is painful to me.
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
I find myself caught in a difficult situation where I have to choose between two equally challenging options.
I forgive you, 'cause I can't forget you
Despite the hurt you have caused me, I am unable to entirely erase you from my mind, so I choose to forgive.
[Repeat: x2]
The following lines will be repeated twice.
I ought to cross you off my list
It would be wise for me to remove you from my life and move on.
But when you come a-knocking at my door
However, whenever you return and seek my attention, my resolve weakens.
Fate seems to give my heart a twist
The forces of destiny always seem to manipulate my emotions, causing my heart to experience turmoil.
And I come running back for more
Despite the pain and uncertainty, I cannot resist the temptation to return to you.
I should hate you, but I guess I love you
Logic dictates that I should hold animosity towards you, but unfortunately, I find myself still harboring feelings of love.
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
Once again, I am trapped in a dilemma where neither choice brings me any solace or relief.
The devil and the deep blue sea
This phrase emphasizes the inescapable predicament I find myself in, caught between two negative and challenging circumstances.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, S.A. MUSIC, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, MUSIC.INFO FINLAND OY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
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)