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).
Let
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
In Spain the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Not to mention the Finns
Folks in Siam do it
Think of Siamese twins
Some Argentines, without means do it
People say in Boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Romantic sponges they say do it
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Electric eels, I might add, do it
Though it shocks 'em I know
Why ask if shad do it
Waiter, bring me shadroe
In shallow shoals, English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
The song "Let's Do It Let's Fall In Love" by Dee Dee Bridgewater is an ode to the universal nature of love and the fact that every living being can experience it. The opening lines of the song suggest that the act of falling in love is not exclusive to humans. The line "birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it" is an allusion to the fact that mating and falling in love is a natural occurrence in the animal kingdom, and even the lower species fall in love.
This idea is then reinforced in the following lines, where the singer mentions that people from all parts of the world - Spain, Lithuania, Letts, Amsterdam, Finland, Siam, and Argentina - all fall in love. The song suggests that love is a universal feeling that transcends borders, race, and social class.
The latter part of the song talks about the different types of organisms, including plants, animals, and marine life, that also fall in love. By highlighting the fact that even inanimate objects like rocks can fall in love, the song emphasizes that love is all-inclusive and can happen anywhere and anytime.
Overall, the song celebrates love and the fact that it is a natural occurrence in all living things- from bees to humans.
Line by Line Meaning
Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Love is a natural instinct that everyone experiences, even animals and insects. Let's also experience this feeling by falling in love.
In Spain the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
No matter what social status or nationalities, people everywhere fall in love. Let's also join them in experiencing this feeling.
The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it
Not to mention the Finns
Folks in Siam do it
Think of Siamese twins
Love knows no boundaries or cultural differences. Everyone is capable of falling in love, including those who are physically connected. Let's join them in experiencing this feeling.
Some Argentines, without means do it
People say in Boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Money is not a barrier for love, even those who are poor can also experience it. No matter how unconventional, let's also join them in experiencing this feeling.
Romantic sponges they say do it
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Even sea creatures are capable of falling in love. Let's also join them in experiencing this feeling.
Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Love is a natural instinct that even invertebrates experience. Though they may not want to, they still fall in love. Let's also join them in experiencing this feeling.
Electric eels, I might add, do it
Though it shocks 'em I know
Why ask if shad do it
Waiter, bring me shadroe
Even creatures that can deliver a shock are still capable of falling in love. It's futile to question or judge anyone for falling in love. Let's focus on experiencing this feeling ourselves.
In shallow shoals, English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Even fish in ponds and shallow water are capable of falling in love, despite their limitations. No matter what our limitations are, we can all fall in love. Let's also join them in experiencing this feeling.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind