Washington was born Ruth Jones in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As she was growing up in Chicago, she played piano and directed her church choir. Later, she studied in Walter Dyett's renowned music program at DuSable High School. For a while, she split her time between performing in clubs as Dinah Washington while singing and playing piano in Salle Martin's gospel choir as Ruth Jones.
Washington began performing in 1942 and soon joined Lionel Hampton's band. In 1943, she began recording for Keynote Records and released "Evil Gal Blues", her first hit. By 1955, she had released numerous hit songs on the R&B charts, including "Baby, Get Lost", "Trouble in Mind", "You Don't Know What Love Is" (arranged by Quincy Jones), and a cover of "Cold, Cold Heart" by Hank Williams. In 1958 she made a well-received appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival.
With "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" 1959, Washington won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance; the song was her biggest hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The commercially driven album of the same name, with its heavily reliance on strings and wordless choruses, was slammed by jazz and blues critics as being far too commercial, not keeping with her blues roots. Despite this, the album was a huge success and Washington continued to favor more commercial, pop-oriented songs rather than traditional blues and jazz songs. She also dealt in torch songs; her rendition of The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" was well-regarded.
She was married seven times, and divorced six times while having several lovers, including Quincy Jones, her young arranger. She was known to be imperious and demanding in real life, but audiences loved her. In London she once declared, "...there is only one heaven, one earth and one queen...Queen Elizabeth is an impostor", but the crowd loved it.
Dinah Washington died from an accidental overdose of diet pills and alcohol at the age of 39 in 1963.
A Stranger On Earth
Dinah Washington Lyrics
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But somehow those folks belong
Me, I try for all I'm worth
But I still remain a stranger on this earth
Some people gloom, other folk cry
Me, I have to struggle to keep alive
Ever since the day of my birth
I try to be what all folks should
Forgetting the bad and doing good
But no matter how I try
My troubles always multiply
Now I've been doing the best I can
Ever since life began
Some day when I prove my worth
I won't be a stranger on earth
Now I've been living the best I can
Ever since my life began
The day's gonna come when I prove my worth
And I won't be no stranger
No, I won't be a stranger
On this earth
In Dinah Washington's song, "A Stranger On Earth," the singer expresses her feelings of being an outsider in a world where she struggles to find her place. She observes that some people don't know right from wrong but still find a sense of belonging, while she tries to do good but feels disconnected from those around her. Despite her efforts to fit in, Dinah remains a stranger on this earth. She has to fight to stay alive, and her troubles seem to multiply endlessly, no matter how much she tries to forget the bad and do good.
Throughout the song, Dinah highlights her struggle to prove her worth despite feeling like an outsider. She performs her best every day, hoping that someday her efforts will pay off, and she will no longer be a stranger on earth. The song is a powerful expression of the feelings of exclusion and the desire for validation that many people feel. Dinah's soulful voice and emotional delivery make this song a poignant meditation on the human condition and our innate need for connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Some fools don't know what's right from wrong
There are people who cannot distinguish between the right and the wrong things in life.
But somehow those folks belong
These people have a place in this world even though they lack the ability to differentiate between right and wrong.
Me, I try for all I'm worth
I always give my best effort in everything I do in life.
But I still remain a stranger on this earth
Despite trying my best, I still feel like a foreigner or outsider in this world.
Some people gloom, other folk cry
There are individuals who always feel sad and others who cry when things don't go their way.
Me, I have to struggle to keep alive
I have to make a great effort just to stay alive in this world.
Ever since the day of my birth
My struggles have been a part of my life from the day I was born.
I've been a stranger, stranger on this earth
I have always felt like a stranger or an outsider in this world.
I try to be what all folks should
I try to be a good person like everyone should be.
Forgetting the bad and doing good
I try to put the bad things out of my mind and do good things in life.
But no matter how I try
No matter how hard I try to be a good person in life.
My troubles always multiply
My problems only seem to get worse as time goes on.
Now I've been doing the best I can
I've always tried my hardest in life.
Ever since life began
Since the beginning of my life, I've been striving to be a better person and live a better life.
Some day when I prove my worth
One day, when I show my true value to the world.
I won't be a stranger on earth
I won't feel like an outsider or foreigner in this world anymore.
Now I've been living the best I can
I've been living my life to the best of my ability.
The day's gonna come when I prove my worth
The day will come when I finally show the world what I'm capable of.
And I won't be no stranger
I won't feel like an outsider or foreigner in this world anymore.
No, I won't be a stranger
I will finally feel like I belong in this world.
On this earth
This world that we all share and call home.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SID FELLER, RICK WARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind