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!.
The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Glasses full of rye
All the news is bad again so
Kiss your dreams goodbye
All the sad young men
Sitting in the bars
Knowing neon nights
All the sad young men
Drifting through the town
Drinking up the night
Trying not to drown
All the sad young men
Singing in the cold
Trying to forget
That they're growing old
All the sad young men
Choking on their worth
Trying to be brave
Running from the truth
Autumn turns the leaves to gold
Slowly dies the heart
Sad young men are growing old
That's the cruelest part
All the sad young men
Seek a certain smile
Someone they can hold for a little while
Tired little girl does the best she can
Trying to be gay for her sad young man
While the grimy moon
Watches from above
All the sad young men
Play of making love
Misbegotten moon
Shine for sad young men
Let your gentle light
Guide them home tonight
All the sad young men
The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men by Anita O'Day is a song about the struggles of the young men who are lost, sad, and disconnected from the world around them. The song sets the mood with the opening lines, "Sing a song of sad young man, Glasses full of rye, All the news is bad again, Kiss your dreams goodbye." It paints a picture of young men drowning their sorrows in alcohol, aware of the bleakness of their situation, and struggling to come to terms with their lives. The song speaks of young men who are missing out on the joys of life, chasing illusions and trying to forget the ticking of the clock.
The chorus repeats the melancholy theme of the song - "All the sad young men, Sitting in the bars, Knowing neon nights, Missing all the stars." The verses describe the painful realities of these men's lives, how they are trying to overcome their sadness by drinking and becoming lost in the night. They are singing in the cold, drifting through the town, and trying not to drown in their own sorrows. The autumn season is used as a metaphor for the passage of time, and the sad young men are growing old, coping with their regrets and accepting the cruellest part of their existence.
The song ends on a hopeful yet sad note - "Misbegotten moon, Shine for sad young men, Let your gentle light, Guide them home tonight, All the sad young men." The moon is personified here, gently guiding the lost souls back to their safe space. The song captures the fragility of young men caught up in the obstacles of life and the difficulty in finding one's place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Sing a song of sad young man
Start with a tune about the sorrowful youths
Glasses full of rye
They drink their sorrows away, on the rocks
All the news is bad again so
Nothing good to hear or see, once again
Kiss your dreams goodbye
Say goodbye to all the hopes and aspirations
All the sad young men
Those melancholic youngsters
Sitting in the bars
Passing time at the pub
Knowing neon nights
Familiar with bright city lights
Missing all the stars
Yearning for the serene skies
Drifting through the town
Wandering aimlessly on the city streets
Drinking up the night
Emptying glasses and bottles all night
Trying not to drown
Struggling not to succumb to despair
Singing in the cold
Humming melodies in the chilly weather
Trying to forget
Attempting to erase the painful memories
That they're growing old
Noticing the inevitable passage of time
Choking on their worth
Feeling like they are worth nothing
Trying to be brave
Putting on a brave front despite the fear
Running from the truth
Fleeing from the harsh reality of life
Autumn turns the leaves to gold
Autumn colors the foliage in golden hues
Slowly dies the heart
Gradually losing the passion for life
Sad young men are growing old
Those lonesome youths are aging steadily
That's the cruelest part
The harshest fact to accept
Seek a certain smile
Questing for a specific grin
Someone they can hold for a little while
Longing for someone to embrace momentarily
Tired little girl does the best she can
A fatigued lady strives to do her best
Trying to be gay for her sad young man
Trying to cheer up her woeful companion
While the grimy moon
In the presence of the murky satellite
Watches from above
Observes from the sky
Play of making love
Engage in the act of lovemaking
Misbegotten moon
The maligned lunar body
Shine for sad young men
Radiate light to uplift the forlorn youths
Let your gentle light
Illuminate softly
Guide them home tonight
Lead them to their abode this evening
All the sad young men
All those miserable, young men
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FRAN LANDESMAN FRANCES, THOMAS J TOMMY JR WOLF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bennanmurphy1358
Wonderful.
@MrFalconford
i'll always remember you this way a od, thanks for sharing your work
@drchilledair
This is the ONLY album where O'Day worked with pre-recorded orchestral tracks. Her usual modus operandi was to just walk into the studio where the musicians were assembled and said "Hit it, boys." w/o so much as even a quick rundown. Reportedly, she happily worked at home with the tracks for a a couple of weeks before going into the studio. This certainly is one of her best albums. Nothing at all wrong with the other 18 Verves. This album feels just as spontaneous. When the package of McFarland's ta[pe arrived at her door, this was the first time that O'Day was even aware that she was to record an album with him. Probably never even crossed her mind before that this might be an interesting alternative to s.o.procedure.
@4giornianatale
Magic
@desperatetimes5873
She sang this very straight. Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman tune from The Nervous Set play. Nice arrangement that stayed true to the tune.
@unclebobunclebob
sweet
@ronavery5094
Mark Murphy's version probably the best. But this one is also fine.
@MrManorAvenue
Love the song but can't say that it's the type that lends itself to jazz-improv renditions. Personally I feel it's more moving when performed as a straight ballad so that one focuses on the all-too-true-to-life meanings in the lyrics. I'd love to hear her sing it in the manner in which it was written.
@frankfeldman6657
MrManorAvenue Very much agree. Never thought I'd rave about Boz Scaggs, believe me. Till now.
@sgcim956
+MrManorAvenue
There's no jazz improv in this version; it's an arrangement by Gary McFarland.