Ruth Lee Jones (born August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; died December … Read Full Bio ↴Ruth Lee Jones (born August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; died December 14, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan), better known by her stage name Dinah Washington and also as the Queen of the Blues, was an American Grammy award winning jazz singer best known for singing classic torch songs and her hit single What a Diff'rence a Day Makes. Her penetrating voice, excellent timing, and crystal-clear enunciation added her own distinctive style to every piece she undertook. While making extraordinary recordings in jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and light pop contexts, Washington refused to record gospel music despite her obvious talent in singing it, as she believed it wrong to mix the secular and spiritual.

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.

Ain't Nobody's Business but My Own
Dinah Washington Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There ain't nothing I can do
Or nothing I can say
That folks don't criticize me

But I'm going to do
Just as I want to anyway
And don't care just what people say

If I should take a notion
To jump into the ocean
Ain't nobody's business if I do

If I go to church on Sunday
Then cabaret all day Monday
Ain't nobody's business if I do

If my man ain't got no money
And I say "Take all of mine, honey"
Ain't nobody's business if I do

If I give him my last nickel
And it leaves me in a pickle
Ain't nobody's business if I do

Well, I'd rather my man would hit me
Than follow him to jump up and quit me
Ain't nobody's business if I do

I swear, I won't call no copper
If I'm beat up by my papa
Ain't nobody's business if I do

Nobody's business

Ain't nobody's business
Nobody's business if I do

Overall Meaning

The song "Ain't Nobody's Business But Mine" by Dinah Washington captures a fierce independence and unwavering determination in the face of criticism and judgment from others. The opening lines of the song proclaim the singer's awareness that no matter what she does or says, people are going to criticize her. However, she refuses to be controlled or limited by the opinions of others and declares that she will do as she pleases, regardless of what anyone else thinks. The song goes on to provide examples of this freedom, such as jumping into the ocean or going to church on Sunday and a cabaret on Monday. Even when it comes to her personal relationships, she asserts that it's nobody's business if she chooses to give her last nickel to her man, even if it leaves her in a "pickle."

The final verse of the song takes a surprising turn when the singer states that she would rather be hit by her man than abandon him. This line suggests that the song is about more than just individual freedom and also touches on themes of love, loyalty, and the complexity of relationships. By asserting that her relationship is "nobody's business," the singer is claiming a level of privacy and personal autonomy in her romantic life that was not always available to women, especially black women, in the mid-twentieth century.

Line by Line Meaning

There ain't nothing I can do
I am limited in my abilities

Or nothing I can say
Or in my words

That folks don't criticize me
And people will always criticize me

But I'm going to do
Nevertheless, I will act

Just as I want to anyway
In the way I desire

And don't care just what people say
Without concern for others' opinions

If I should take a notion
If I ever feel like

To jump into the ocean
Jumping into the sea