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).
Undecided
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And then you don't
And then you say you will
And then you won't
You're undecided now
So what are you gonna do?
Now you want to play
And then it's no
That's when you go
You're undecided now
So what are you gonna do?
I've been sitting on a fence
And it doesn't make much sense
'Cause you keep me in suspense
And you know it
Then you promise to return
When you don't
I really burn
Well, I guess I'll never learn
And I show it
If you've got a heart
And if you're kind
Then don't keep us apart
Make up your mind
You're undecided now
So what are you gonna do?
Dee Dee Bridgewater's song "Undecided" is a playful yet poignant exploration of the anxiety and frustration that comes with uncertainty in a relationship. The lyrics are structured as a conversation between two people, with the singer expressing their frustration with the other person's indecision. The repeated lines of "First you say you do and then you don't, and then you say you will and then you won't" create a sense of push and pull, reflecting the back-and-forth of a relationship in which one person is uncertain about their feelings.
The chorus, "You're undecided now, so what are you gonna do?" serves as a challenge to the other person to make a decision and commit to it. The mood of the song is lighthearted, with Bridgewater's jazz-infused vocals dancing across the lyrics. However, the underlying sentiment is one of frustration and a desire for clarity and honesty.
Overall, "Undecided" highlights the complex emotions that arise in romantic relationships, particularly when one person is uncertain about their feelings. Bridgewater captures this with her engaging and expressive performance, making the song a timeless exploration of the challenges of love and commitment.
Line by Line Meaning
First you say you do
At first, you claim that you are willing to do something
And then you don't
But then you change your mind and decide not to do it
And then you say you will
Again, you make a promise that you will do something
And then you won't
But once more, you change your mind and refuse to follow through
You're undecided now
Overall, you are uncertain and can't make up your mind
So what are you gonna do?
What choice will you ultimately make?
Now you want to play
Sometimes, you seem interested in participating
And then it's no
And then suddenly you lose interest entirely
And when you say you'll stay
Even when you promise to stick around
That's when you go
That's when you end up leaving anyway
I've been sitting on a fence
I've been stuck in the middle and unable to choose a side
And it doesn't make much sense
It's confusing and frustrating to be in this position
'Cause you keep me in suspense
You leave me in a state of uncertainty and anticipation
And you know it
You're aware of the effect you're having on me
Then you promise to return
You offer assurances that you'll come back
When you don't
But then you fail to keep your word
I really burn
I feel hurt and upset when you do this
Well, I guess I'll never learn
I seem to keep falling for your empty promises
And I show it
My feelings are clear and visible to others
If you've got a heart
If you are a kind and compassionate person
And if you're kind
And you genuinely care about others
Then don't keep us apart
Please don't let your indecisiveness keep us from connecting
Make up your mind
Finally, make a choice and stick with it
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Charles Shavers, Sydney Robin, Zbigniew Jacek Namyslowski
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind