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!.
Sometimes Im Happy
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sweetheart, when you are not near.
All that you claim must be true,
For I'm just the same as you;
Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm blue,
My disposition depends on you.
I never mind the rain from the skies,
Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you,
But when I hate you, it's 'cause I love you.
That's how I am so what can I do?
I'm happy when I'm with you.
Stars are smiling at me from your eyes.
Sunbeams now there will be in the skies.
Tell me that you will be true!
That will all depend on you,
Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm blue,
My disposition depends on you.
I never mind the rain from the skies,
If I can find the sun in your eyes.
Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you,
But when I hate you, it's 'cause I love you.
That's how I am so what can I do?
I'm happy when I'm with you.
Anita O'Day's "Sometimes I'm Happy" is a love song that very simply conveys the ups and downs of a relationship. The singer confesses that they feel like every day is a year when their sweetheart is not around and that their disposition entirely depends on their partner's actions towards them. The chorus features the repetition of the phrase "Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm blue" which highlights the singer's emotional volatility. They explain that they don't mind external circumstances like rain if they can see the love and warmth in their partner's eyes. The second verse ends with the singer asking their partner to promise to be true, but they acknowledge that ultimately, their happiness depends on the actions of their partner.
In terms of interpretation, it's clear that the singer is deeply in love but also highly dependent on their partner. They recognize that their emotions can be fickle, but it's because they feel so passionately. There is a sense of vulnerability in the lyrics, as well as a recognition that the singer doesn't have complete control over their own emotional wellbeing.
Line by Line Meaning
Every day seems like a year,
My days feel long and drawn out without you by my side.
Sweetheart, when you are not near.
I miss you deeply when we're apart.
All that you claim must be true,
I trust you completely and believe everything you say.
For I'm just the same as you;
I feel the same way about you as you do about me.
Sometimes I'm happy, sometimes I'm blue,
My emotions are greatly affected by the state of our relationship.
My disposition depends on you.
My attitude and mood are directly tied to how you treat me.
I never mind the rain from the skies,
Bad weather doesn't bother me if I have you to make me happy.
If I can find the sun in your eyes.
Your love and affection bring light and warmth to my life.
Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you,
My feelings for you can be fickle, but ultimately, I still love you.
But when I hate you, it's 'cause I love you.
My frustration with you comes from my strong emotions and attachment to you.
That's how I am so what can I do?
I can't help the way I feel and act towards you.
I'm happy when I'm with you.
Being with you brings me joy and contentment.
Stars are smiling at me from your eyes.
Looking into your eyes makes me feel as if the stars are shining down on me.
Sunbeams now there will be in the skies.
Your love brings light and warmth to my life, just like the sun's rays.
Tell me that you will be true!
Promise me that you'll always be faithful and committed to our relationship.
That will all depend on you,
Whether you keep your promise will be up to you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Cloud9, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Clifford Grey, Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans
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)