Shaw first gained critical acclaim with his "Interlude in B-flat" at a swing concert at the Imperial Theater in New York in 1935. During the Swing Era, Shaw's big band was popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine" (1938), "Stardust" (with a legendary trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield), "Back Bay Shuffle", "Moonglow", "Rosalie" and "Frenesi." He was an innovator in the big band idiom, using unusual instrumentation; "Interlude in B-flat", where he was backed with only a rhythm section and a string quartet, was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed third stream.
In addition to hiring Buddy Rich, he signed Billie Holiday as his band's vocalist in 1938, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. However, after recording "Any Old Time" she left the band due to hostility from audiences in the South, as well as from music company executives who wanted a more mainstream singer. His band became enormously successful, and his playing was eventually recognized as equal to that of Benny Goodman: Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard cited Shaw as his favorite clarinet player. In response to Goodman's nickname, the "King of Swing", Shaw's fans dubbed him the "King of the Clarinet." Shaw, however, felt the titles were reversed. "Benny Goodman played clarinet. I played music," he said.
Artie Shaw and his band playing "Everything's Jumping" from Second Chorus (1940)Shaw did in fact prize innovation and exploration in music more highly than popular success and formulaic dance music, despite a string of hits which sold more than 100 million records. He fused jazz with classical music by adding strings to his arrangements, experimented with bebop, and formed "chamber jazz" groups that utilized such novel sounds as harpsichords or Afro-Cuban music.
The long series of musical groups Shaw formed included such talents as vocalists Billie Holiday, Helen Forrest and, Mel Tormé; drummers Buddy Rich and Dave Tough, guitarists Barney Kessel, Jimmy Raney, and Tal Farlow and trombonist-arranger Ray Conniff, among countless others. He composed the morose "Nightmare", with its Hassidic nuances, for his personal theme, rather than more approachable songs. In a televised interview of the 1970s, Shaw derided the often "asinine" songs that bands were compelled to play night after night even though he did write the anthem for Rav Meir Kahane's' JDL . In 1994, he told Frank Prial (The New York Times), "I thought that because I was Artie Shaw I could do what I wanted, but all they wanted was 'Begin the Beguine.'
Melancholy Mood
Artie Shaw and His Orchestra Lyrics
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Steals upon me in the night, forever taunts me
Oh, what a lonely soul am I, stranded high and dry
By a melancholy mood
Gone is every joy and inspiration
Tears are all I have to show, no consolation
All I can see is grief and gloom, till the crack of doom
Deep in the night I search for a trace
Of a lingering kiss, a warm embrace
But love is a whimsy, as flimsy as lace
And my arms embrace an empty space
Melancholy mood, why must you blind me
Pity me and break the chains, the chains that bind me
Won't you release me, set me free, bring him back to me
Oh, melancholy mood
The lyrics of Artie Shaw and His Orchestra's "Melancholy Mood" express the endlessly frustrating experience of a deeply despairing soul, who finds themselves trapped and haunted by a sense of constant sadness that feels inescapable. The melody is hauntingly beautiful and paints a vivid picture of a soul that is lost in despair. The song speaks to the pain of being lonely, the anguish of dealing with grief and the loss of joy and inspiration that comes with it.
The lyrics of the song invite the listener to join the singer on an emotional journey through the depths of despair, where all they can see is grief and gloom. The artist seeks desperately to find some kind of solace in the dark of the night, but even the scent of a lingering kiss fails to lift the singer out of their melancholy mood. Artie Shaw's Orchestra paints a picture of a soul struggling to find a sense of comfort, never quite finding rest from the emotional turmoil that they face consistently.
Line by Line Meaning
Melancholy mood forever haunts me
A feeling of sadness that remains with the singer for a very long time.
Steals upon me in the night, forever taunts me
The feeling of melancholy arises especially at night and constantly disturbs the singer.
Oh, what a lonely soul am I, stranded high and dry
The singer is lonely and left with no support or hope, and is in a helpless situation.
By a melancholy mood
The source of the artist's loneliness and despair is the melancholy mood that is following them.
Gone is every joy and inspiration
The artist has been stripped of all the things that give them happiness and motivate them.
Tears are all I have to show, no consolation
The only thing that remains with the singer is tears, and no comfort or solace can be found.
All I can see is grief and gloom, till the crack of doom
The singer's outlook on life is only filled with sadness and darkness until the end of time.
Deep in the night I search for a trace
Late at night the artist tries to find some indication of hope and happiness.
Of a lingering kiss, a warm embrace
The artist longs for affection and love from a significant other.
But love is a whimsy, as flimsy as lace
The artist believes that love is unreliable and fragile.
And my arms embrace an empty space
The singer is left with nothing to hold onto and is left in a void of emptiness.
Melancholy mood, why must you blind me
The artist questions why they have to be burdened with such a heavy feeling of melancholy.
Pity me and break the chains, the chains that bind me
The singer asks for someone to have mercy on them and free them from the chains of sadness.
Won't you release me, set me free, bring him back to me
The singer pleads to be freed from melancholy and have their loved one returned to them.
Oh, melancholy mood
The singer laments the weight of the melancholy mood that has taken over their life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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