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!.
I Can't Give You Anything but Love
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from
simply rotten to something worse
Who knows, some day I will win too.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
Now though I see what our end is,
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
You have a lifetime before you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
Please don't be blue for the present,
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
In the song "I Can't Give You Anything but Love," the singer, who is broke, tells their lover that despite their financial struggles, they have an abundance of love to offer. The first verse describes the difficulty of being broke, and how the singer's luck has only been getting worse. The second verse expresses hope for the future, and the belief that their luck will eventually change. The chorus repeats that the only thing the singer can offer is love, but encourages the listener to dream and scheme for happiness.
The final verse talks directly to the singer's lover, telling them that they are willing to wait for better times, and that they have a lifetime to enjoy together. The singer's devotion to their lover is evident throughout the song, with repeated use of terms of endearment like "baby" and "dear."
Overall, the song is a message of hope and perseverance despite difficult circumstances. It communicates the idea that material possessions may come and go, but love is always abundant.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid.
It's hard to have no money.
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
Being broke is a difficult situation, not something to take lightly.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from simply rotten to something worse
Things are going from bad to worse for me.
Who knows, some day I will win too.
There's always hope that things will get better.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
I'll start to get better and better.
Now though I see what our end is,
I understand what our future looks like.
All I can spend is just my time.
I don't have much money to offer, but I can give you my time.
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
Love is all I have to give you.
That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby.
I may not have a lot of material possessions, but I have plenty of love to give.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
Let's dream and plan for a better future.
We're sure to find Happiness and I guess All those things you've always pined for.
If we keep hoping and dreaming, we'll find happiness and everything else we've wanted.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
I want to see you happy and healthy.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
I can't afford to buy you fancy things, but I still care for you.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
Until I can give you more, you know that I can only offer my love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
It takes time to build something great.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
You have to work hard and make sacrifices to get what you want.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
I'm patient and willing to wait for good things to happen.
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
I'll always remember and care for you.
You have a lifetime before you.
You have your whole life ahead of you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
I'll love you no matter what happens.
Please don't be blue for the present,
Don't be sad right now.
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
I like it when you talk to me.
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
Love is all I have to give you.
That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby.
I may not have a lot of material possessions, but I have plenty of love to give.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
Let's dream and plan for a better future.
We're sure to find Happiness and I guess All those things you've always pined for.
If we keep hoping and dreaming, we'll find happiness and everything else we've wanted.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
I want to see you happy and healthy.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
I can't afford to buy you fancy things, but I still care for you.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
Until I can give you more, you know that I can only offer my love.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
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)