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).
If You Can
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then you might as well take the sun away
All the birds that flew in the summer sky
When our love was new and our hearts were high
When the day was young, and the night was long
And the moon stood still for the nightbird's song
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
Like no day has been or will be again
We'll sail the sun, we'll ride on the rain
We'll talk to the trees and worship the wind
Then if you go, I'll understand
Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
If you go away, as I know you will
You must tell the world to stop turning 'til
You return again, if you ever do
For what good is love without loving you?
Can I tell you now, as you turn to go
I'll be dying slowly 'til the next hello?
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
But if you stay, I'll make you a night
Like no night has been or will be again
I'll sail on your smile, I'll ride on your touch
I'll talk to your eyes that I love so much
But if you go, go! I won't cry
Though the good is gone from the word goodbye
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
If you go away, as I know you must
There'll be nothing left in the world to trust
Just an empty room, full of empty space
Like the empty look I see on your face
I'd have been the shadow of your shadow
If I thought it might have kept me by your side
Dee Dee Bridgewater's version of "Ne Me Quitte Pas" is a French chanson that translates to "Don't Leave Me" in English. The lyrics speak of a love that is about to end, and the desperate pleas of someone who does not want it to end. The opening lines set the scene of a summer day. If the lover goes away, it is like taking the sun away since they are the light that illuminates the singer's heart. The birds that flew in the summer sky represent fleeting memories of a time when their love was new, and everything was full of possibilities. The nightbird's song symbolizes the magic of those moments. If the lover goes away, the singer's heart will be empty, and they will be left with only memories of their time together.
In the chorus, the singer pleads with the lover to stay. They promise to make the lover's day like no other and will do anything to keep them close. However, if the lover decides to go, they ask for just enough love to fill up their hand. The singer acknowledges that if the lover must go, then they must go, but they will still be left with a deep longing for them. They request the lover to tell the world to stop turning until they return, as the world cannot function without them. The singer will be dying slowly until the lover returns.
In the final verse, the lover has decided to leave, and the singer is resigned to the fact that there is nothing they can do about it. They describe the emptiness that will be left in their lives after the lover leaves. They would have been the shadow of their shadow if it meant that they could stay by their side. Despite the sadness of the situation, the singer tells the lover to go and not to worry, as the world is full of goodbyes, and life goes on.
Line by Line Meaning
If you go away on this summer day
If you leave me on this beautiful summer day
Then you might as well take the sun away
Your absence would take away all the warmth and happiness from my life
All the birds that flew in the summer sky
The memories of the beautiful moments we shared together
When our love was new and our hearts were high
When we were deeply in love and happy
When the day was young, and the night was long
The time when our love was vibrant and alive
And the moon stood still for the nightbird's song
When everything seemed perfect and the world would pause for our love
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
If you leave me, If you leave me, If you leave me
But if you stay, I'll make you a day
If you stay with me, I will make every day special for you
Like no day has been or will be again
I will create moments for us that will be unique and unforgettable
We'll sail the sun, we'll ride on the rain
We'll experience the wonders of the world together
We'll talk to the trees and worship the wind
We'll find joy and love in the simplest things nature has to offer
Then if you go, I'll understand
If you leave, I will accept your decision
Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand
Please leave some love behind for me to cherish
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
If you leave me, If you leave me, If you leave me
If you go away, as I know you will
I am aware that you will eventually leave me
You must tell the world to stop turning 'til
Your leaving will be such a big blow that everything good in the world will stop
You return again, if you ever do
I don't know if you will ever return to me
For what good is love without loving you?
My love is meaningless without you in my life
Can I tell you now, as you turn to go
As you leave me, can I express my feelings to you?
I'll be dying slowly 'til the next hello?
I will be hopelessly waiting for the day when we will meet again
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
If you leave me, If you leave me, If you leave me
But if you stay, I'll make you a night
If you stay with me, I will make every night special for us
Like no night has been or will be again
Together we will experience something unique and magical
I'll sail on your smile, I'll ride on your touch
I will find delight in your every gesture and movement
I'll talk to your eyes that I love so much
Your eyes will be my constant source of joy and inspiration
But if you go, go! I won't cry
If you must go, go ahead. I won't shed a tear
Though the good is gone from the word goodbye
Goodbye won't mean anything positive anymore
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away
If you leave me, If you leave me, If you leave me
If you go away, as I know you must
I am certain that you will leave eventually
There'll be nothing left in the world to trust
I won't be able to trust anything or anyone after you have gone
Just an empty room, full of empty space
Everything around me will remind me of your absence
Like the empty look I see on your face
Your vacant expression is a sign of my impending loss
I'd have been the shadow of your shadow
I would have followed you anywhere
If I thought it might have kept me by your side
If that would have guaranteed your presence in my life, I would have done anything for it
Lyrics © Tratore, WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jacques Brel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind