Born Denise Eileen Garrett in Memphis, Tennessee, she grew up in Flint, Michigan. Her father, Matthew Garrett, was a jazz trumpeter and teacher at Manassas High School, and through his playing, Denise was exposed to jazz early on. At the age of sixteen, she was a member of a rock and rhythm'n'blues trio, singing in clubs in Michigan. At 18, she studied at Michigan State University before she went to the University of Illinois. With their jazz band, she toured the Soviet Union in 1969. The next year, she met trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, and after their marriage, they moved to New York City, where Cecil played in Horace Silver's band.
In 1971, Dee Dee Bridgewater joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as the lead vocalist. The next years marked the beginning of her jazz career, and she performed with many of the great jazz musicians of the time, such as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, and others. In 1974, her first own album, entitled Afro Blue, appeared, and she also performed on Broadway in the musical The Wiz. For her role as Glinda the Good Witch she won a Tony Award in 1975 as "best-featured actress", and the musical also won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
She subsequently appeared in several other stage productions. After touring France in 1984 with the musical Sophisticated Ladies, she moved to Paris in 1986. The same year saw her in Lady Day as Billie Holliday, for which role she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she returned from the world of musical to jazz. She performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990, and four years later, she finally collaborated with Horace Silver, whom she had admired for a long time, and released the album Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver. Her 1997 tribute album Dear Ella won her the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and the 1998 album Live at Yoshi's was also worth a Grammy nomination. She has also explored on This is New the songs of Kurt Weill, and, on her latest album J'ai Deux Amours, the French Classics.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is the first American to be inducted to the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie. She has received the Award of Arts and Letters in France.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is mother to three children, Tulani Bridgewater (from her marriage to Cecil Bridgewater), China Moses (from her marriage to theater, film and television director Gilbert Moses) and Gabriel Durand (from her current marriage to French concert promoter Jean-Marie Durand).
I Go My Way
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's nothing left to say
When love is gone
The world can't go on
Tell me why should I stay
I won't tell you no lies
But I'll just pay the price
I close the door
I'm lonely once again
I know the sad refrain
When somebody feels that
There's no reason to remain
The only thing to do
Is just to tell the truth
That's what I've done
And now, I'm on my way
We thought our love would always last
And we could forget all the past
But maybe, maybe we were dreaming
The end has come
It's much too soon
But I've just got to leave the room…
Don't say a word
I'll go my way
It's hard but I can't stay
Maybe, maybe it's wrong for you
But there's no reason to go through
So don't you shed a tear
It's time to disappear
I'll close the door
And then
I'm on my way…
…
We thought our love would always last
And we could forget all the past
Ooh! But maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe we were dreaming
The end has come
It's much too soon
Ever know I've got to leave the room
Don't say a word
Yes let me go my way
It's hard but I can't stay
Maybe it's wrong for you
But there's no reason, no reason to go through
Now don't you shed a tear
It's time to disappear
I'll close the door
And then
I'm on my way…
The lyrics of Dee Dee Bridgewater's song "I Go My Way" tell the story of a person who's fallen out of love and decides to leave the relationship. The singer acknowledges that love is gone and there's no reason to stay in a relationship that's lost its meaning. The decision to leave is not an easy one, but it's the right thing to do. The singer is honest and prefers to "just tell the truth" instead of lying or pretending. The pain of the separation is palpable, and the singer acknowledges the "sad refrain" of loneliness that awaits.
The second verse suggests that the couple might have had high aspirations for their relationship, but reality fell short of their expectations. They were hopeful that their love would always last, and the past could be left behind, but now they know they were deluding themselves. The end of the relationship has come too soon, but the singer has to leave, anyway. The singer pleads with the partner not to cry and let them go their way.
Overall, the song is about being honest with oneself and one's partner, even when that honesty leads to pain and heartbreak. Sometimes it's better to end a relationship that's no longer working than to stay in it and suffer.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll go my way
I am going to go my own way and pursue the path that I feel is best for me.
There's nothing left to say
There is no need for further words or discussion since the decision has already been made.
When love is gone
Once the love has ended between two people,
The world can't go on
It feels as though the world has come to a stop and everything is at a standstill.
Tell me why should I stay
If the love has ended, there isn't any reason for me to stay in this relationship.
I won't tell you no lies
I won't deceive you by saying something untrue. I will tell you the truth.
But I'll just pay the price
I will face the consequences of my decision and take responsibility for it.
I close the door
I will shut the door on the relationship and move forward with my life.
And then
After shutting the door,
I'm lonely once again
I am saddened by the loss of the relationship and find myself feeling solemn and isolated.
I know the sad refrain
I understand the sorrowful and monotonous melody that goes along with heartbreak.
When somebody feels that there's no reason to remain
When there is a sense that there is nothing left to hold onto in a relationship,
The only thing to do
The best and only option,
Is just to tell the truth
Is to be honest and straightforward about one's emotions and intentions.
That's what I've done
That is exactly what I have done in this situation.
And now, I'm on my way
I am making progress towards finding new opportunities and making the best out of my present situation.
Ooh! but maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe we were dreaming
Perhaps it was all an illusion or a fantasy, and our love was never meant to last.
It's much too soon
Although it feels too early to call it quits, the time has come for me to let go.
Ever know I've got to leave the room
I must walk out of the relationship's room and start a new journey, no matter how difficult it may be.
Yes let me go my way
Please allow me to pursue my own path, even though it may be hard for us both.
Maybe it's wrong for you
This decision may hurt you and it may be the wrong move for your well-being.
But there's no reason, no reason to go through
There is no point in holding onto something that no longer benefits both of us.
Now don't you shed a tear
Please do not cry or feel saddened by this decision.
It's time to disappear
It's time for me to vanish from this relationship and move forward towards something new.
I'll close the door
I will shut the door on this chapter of my life.
And then
After closing the door,
I'm on my way...
I will start a new journey and discover what lies ahead for me.
Contributed by Keira O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.