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!.
Skylark
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have you anything to say to me?
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
Where someone's waiting to be kissed?
Skylark
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Over the shadows and the rain
To a blossom covered lane
And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music of the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there
And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music in the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Oh, Skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there
In this song, Anita O'Day addresses a skylark, asking if it has seen the love she seeks. The skylark is asked for its help in finding a meadow where her true love awaits her. She asks if it has seen a "valley green with spring," where her heart can take a journey "over the shadows and the rain" and lead her to a "blossom covered lane."
The skylark is also asked if it has ever heard the "music of the night" on its lonely flight. This music is described as "wonderful," "crazy," and "sad," like the emotions of a will o' the wisp, a loon and a gypsy serenading the moon.
In the final verse, O'Day's heart is riding on the skylark's wings as she implores it to lead her to these places she seeks. The song is a beautiful example of a lyricist's ability to evoke specific places and emotions, and how they can be expressed through the natural world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Skylark
Addressing the little bird in the sky
Have you anything to say to me?
Asking if the bird has a message for the singer
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Requesting the bird for help to find the singer's beloved
Is there a meadow in the mist
Asking if there is a romantic setting amidst fog
Where someone's waiting to be kissed?
Asking if the beloved is waiting to be with the singer
Skylark
Addressing the little bird once again
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Asking if the bird has seen a lush spring valley
Where my heart can go a journeying
Hoping to find solace and happiness in such a place
Over the shadows and the rain
Despite darkness and hardship, the singer longs for a place of happiness
To a blossom covered lane
Hoping to find a beautiful, romantic path
And in your lonely flight
Acknowledging the bird's solitary flight
Haven't you heard the music of the night?
Asking whether the bird has heard the beautiful music of the night
Wonderful music
Describing the music as amazing
Faint as a will o' the wisp
The music is elusive and hard to capture, like a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
The music is erratic and unpredictable, like a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
The music is poignant and mournful, like a gypsy song
Skylark
Addressing the bird once again
I don't know if you can find these things
Admitting uncertainty about whether the bird can help
But my heart is riding on your wings
Putting trust in the bird
So if you see them anywhere
Asking the bird to lead to the romantic settings if found
Won't you lead me there
A final plea to the bird to help the singer find happiness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nienke Zeeman
Skylark
Have you anything to say to me?
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
Where someone's waiting for a kiss?
Oh skylark
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Where my heart can go a journeying
Over the shadows and the rain
To a blossom covered lane
And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music of the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there
Swivel Hips
My grandfather is one of the musicians playing sax on this recording. Hearing his stories of playing and knowing Gene Krupa, Anita and many others from the Swing era are one of my personal treasures. He had nothing but good to say about Gene, never witnessed him smoke or reference marijuana. He said, "He was no dope fiend". When my grandfather left Gene's band he went on to graduate medical school from Northwestern, serve onboard as a Naval medical officer and had a private practice for 50+ years.
Hello
contact an author of any book about gene.. get your first hand account recorded ...carpi diem...
Janine11155
What an amazing Grandad
Ray Szymarek
Your Story about Gene Krupa and your grand father is exactly correct/ Here is the way the true story goes. Gene Krupa WAS Framed once again Gene Krupa was Framed. His band boy got drafted in to the Army. he wanted to get Gene a going away present. Grass Mariguna. Gene did not care about dope at all. Unfortunately Gene had to serve time and get humiliated. Gene really just wanted to play drums great drums. In that Sax Section with your grand father Charlie Ventura if he was alive would tell you the same. The vocal by Anita O day Skylark was one of Genes favorite tunes. I like it also. thank you
SH
What a wonderful legacy! Thanks for sharing your story.
Liberté
Very really touched by yur family story . So much feelings Merci beaucoup from yu. Emmanuel from Paris France
Nienke Zeeman
Skylark
Have you anything to say to me?
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
Where someone's waiting for a kiss?
Oh skylark
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Where my heart can go a journeying
Over the shadows and the rain
To a blossom covered lane
And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music of the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will o' the wisp
Crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
Skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there
joeypropeller
i've now listened to every other version on youtube, and imho this is the definitive version. bette midler is interesting and aretha is spectacular, but anita seems to me 100% connected to this lyric and melody. it's her song. plus the arrangement with its descending bassline is my favorite -- breezy yet sad yet smart. plus roy's solo kicks ass. this record will have its day.
marco antonio
Já chorei muito ouvindo essa música,o primeiro cd q ganhei! Entre tantas gravações lindas,essa é a q mais amo!
Liberté
One of the BEST ever song! MERCI BEAUCOUP for this incredible rendering rendition! Emmanuel from Paris France