Billie Holiday had a difficult childhood. Much information once not considered true was confirmed in the book Billie Holiday by Stuart Nicholson in 1995. Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, which was first published in 1956, is sketchy when it comes to details about her early life, but has been confirmed by the Nicholson research.
Her professional pseudonym was taken from Billie Dove, an actress she admired, and Clarence Holiday, her probable father. At the outset of her career, she spelled her last name Halliday, which was the birth-surname of her father, but eventually changed it to Holiday, his performing name.
Her distinct delivery made Billie Holiday's performances instantly recognizable throughout her career. A master of improvisation, Billie's well-trained ear more than compensated for her lack of music education performance really was.
In 1972, Diana Ross portrayed Holiday in the film Lady Sings the Blues, which is loosely based on the 1956 autobiography of the same name. The film earned Ross a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also has been portrayed by Ernestine Jackson in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill and by Paula Jai Parker in a Season 7 episode of Touched by an Angel entitled "God Bless the Child," the title deriving from a song that she had written and sung.
In 1987, Billie Holiday was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1993, R&B singer Miki Howard released an album dedicated to Holiday titled Miki Sings Billie: A Tribute To Billie Holiday. The United States Postal Service introduced a Billie Holiday postage stamp in 1994, she ranked #6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock n' Roll in 1999, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Over the years, there have been many tributes to Billie Holiday, including "The Day Lady Died," a 1959 poem by Frank O'Hara, and "Angel of Harlem," a 1988 release by the group U2. A 1953 Holiday concert in New York is a key feature of the 2009 Arthur Phillips novel The Song is You.
On May 31, 1959, Holiday was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York suffering from liver and heart disease. Police officers were stationed at the door to her room. She was arrested for drug possession as she lay dying, and her hospital room was raided by authorities. Holiday remained under police guard at the hospital until she died from cirrhosis of the liver (the result of several years of substance abuse) on July 17, 1959. In the final years of her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings, and she died with $0.70 in the bank and $750 (a tabloid fee) on her person. Her funeral mass was held at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in New York City.
Critic John Bush wrote that she "changed the art of American pop vocals forever."She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child," "Don't Explain," "Fine and Mellow," and "Lady Sings the Blues." She also became famous for singing jazz standards including "Easy Living," "Good Morning Heartache," and "Strange Fruit."
April In Paris
Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chestnuts in blossom
Holiday tables under the trees
April in Paris
This is a feeling
No one can ever reprise
I never knew the charm of spring
I never knew my heart could sing
Never missed a warm embrace
'Til April in Paris
Whom can I run to?
What have you done to my heart?
I never knew the charm of spring
Never met it face to face
I never knew my heart could sing
Never missed a warm embrace
'Til April in Paris
Whom can I run to?
What did you mean to?
What have you done to my heart?
Billie Holiday's "April in Paris" is a classic love song that captures the essence of a romantic moment in the city of lights. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the beauty of Paris in the springtime when the chestnuts are in blossom, and the holiday tables are set under the trees. The song expresses how being in love during this season is a unique feeling that cannot be replicated.
The song's opening lines, "April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom, holiday tables under the trees," immediately transport the listener to the city of Paris in the spring. The next line, "This is a feeling no one can ever reprise," emphasizes how this moment is something special that cannot be repeated or duplicated. The second verse describes the singer's experience of being swept off her feet by the charms of spring, which she never knew until April in Paris. She asks, "Whom can I run to? What have you done to my heart?" expressing how this newfound love has completely taken hold of her.
The refrain repeats the same questions, "Whom can I run to? What did you mean to? What have you done to my heart?" conveying the depth of the singer's infatuation with this person who has brought her such joy and enchantment. The song evokes a sense of passionate longing and a desire to hold onto this moment forever. Overall, "April in Paris" is a beautiful love letter to the city of Paris and the magical feeling of being in love during the spring season.
Line by Line Meaning
April in Paris
The month of April in the city of Paris.
Chestnuts in blossom
Cherry trees blooming with chestnuts.
Holiday tables under the trees
Tables for festivities set up below the trees.
April in Paris
The month of April in the city of Paris.
This is a feeling
Experiencing a unique sensation.
No one can ever reprise
It can never be recreated or imitated.
I never knew the charm of spring
I was unaware of the beauty of the season of spring.
Never met it face to face
Never actually experienced it.
I never knew my heart could sing
I didn't know my heart could feel such joy.
Never missed a warm embrace
I never longed for someone's love.
'Til April in Paris
But everything changed when I experienced April in Paris.
Whom can I run to?
Who can I turn to for comfort?
What have you done to my heart?
Paris has captivated my heart and my emotions.
What did you mean to?
What is the reason behind this alluring feeling?
What have you done to my heart?
Paris has caused my heart to be overwhelmed.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore
Written by: E. Y. Harburg, Vernon Duke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Butterflyxoxo09
Thank u for posting,love this tune :)
carambola08
This is great!
epf1961
Such a paradox with singers like Billie... In the '30s, her voice was better, but the recording techniques were primitive, so she sounds tinny though at her best... By the '50s, we had high-fidelity and stereo, but by then her voice (as a result of her failing health) had deteriorated... So we have so many singers in "lo-fi" while in their prime, yet the dying voices of their sunset years are captured in pristine quality sound!
TEALL TEALL
i can't agree, something about her failing voice conveys the tragedy in her life and in all of humanity so profoundly and also beautifully - imo one of the best singing recordings of all time
miguel angel munc
unica.
Ella ben Zakay
Ya ya ye........ my evening!!
Grant T
The one thumbs down person either made a mistake when clicking, or is a rat that climbed on the mouse and humped it while it was over the thumbs down.
angel1329us
Five years later, there's still only that one mistaken guy, or rat.
John Whitehead
Oh Billie
evan jones
song is me