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.
Blue Gardenia
Dinah Washington Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I'm alone with you
And I am oh, so blue
He has tossed us aside
And, like you, gardenia
Once I was near her heart
After the teardrops start
Where are teardrops to hide?
I lived for an hour
What more can I tell
Love bloomed like a flower
Then the petals fell
Blue gardenia
Thrown to a passing breeze
But pressed, yes they're pressed in my book
Of memories
I lived for an hour
What more can I tell?
Love bloomed like a flower
And then the petals fell
Blue gardenia
Thrown to a passing breeze
But pressed in my book
Of memories
But pressed in my book
Of memories
The song Blue Gardenia by Dinah Washington is a melancholic tune about love lost. The lyrics speak of being alone and feeling blue after being cast aside by a lover. The singer compares herself to a blue gardenia, once near the heart of her lover, but now discarded and forgotten. She wonders where to hide her tears after being hurt by her partner's departure. The phrase "I lived for an hour" suggests that the relationship was short-lived, but intense. The singer then confesses that the love once bloomed like a flower, but now it has faded away, and like the blue gardenia, tossed away by the wind.
The chorus repeats the sentiment of "what more can I tell?" expressing a feeling of hopelessness and resignation to the fact that the relationship is over. The blue gardenia is now only a memory. The last lines of the song suggest that, even though the relationship has ended, the experience remains in the singer's book of memories - a reminder of a love that once was. The song is a poignant portrayal of lost love and the pain and memories that linger long after it's gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue gardenia
Addressing the flower, which the singer likens to her own state of sadness.
Now I'm alone with you
The singer finds solace in the flower's beauty, reflecting on her loneliness.
And I am oh, so blue
The singer is filled with sadness, which the flower symbolizes and represents to her.
He has tossed us aside
The singer and the flower share a sense of abandonment, having been cast off by those they loved.
And, like you, gardenia
She identifies with the flower's plight and experiences.
Once I was near her heart
The singer compares her own heart to that of the one she loved, suggesting that she felt close to this person at one time.
After the teardrops start
The singer is reminded of her emotional pain and heartbreak.
Where are teardrops to hide?
The singer feels overwhelmed by her sadness and has no relief or escape from it.
Love bloomed like a flower
The singer reflects on a time of love and happiness in her past.
Then the petals fell
She laments the end of that love and the pain that followed.
Thrown to a passing breeze
The singer feels discarded and forgotten, much like the flower being discarded by the wind.
But pressed, yes they're pressed in my book of memories
Despite the pain and loss, the singer treasures the memories of that love and the flower as a symbol of it, holding on to them as treasured possessions.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bob Russell, Lester Lee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jimthompson7402
Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn,Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, four of the greatest female vocalists of the 20th century. There will never be anybody like them again. A great.recording!
@iotasoda7240
You forgot Anita O’Day. Dum dum.
@eleonorazichinolfi4571
Carmen Mcrae and Ester Phillips too
@moryan6447
Yes to all the singers including Carmen and Esther who reminded me of Dinah. I’d add June Christy particularly her rendition of Something Cool! Ella my all time 😍
@ropatidee5427
agree...i add anita o'day for my fav 5.
@jeraldmcclainofficial6005
This song just played here in Detroit, Michigan. Loved it so much, I had to find and listen to it again. So jazzy, so classy.
@jimthompson7402
This beautiful song was covered by many artists of the time but none like Dinah Washington. She captures every nuance of emotion.
@patrickryan1515
She said it and she proved it -- over and over again: Dinah could sing anything. 9/2017
@gabrielleauguste5946
💥💥💥🕊🕊🕊🌟🌟🌟🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤😇😇😍C'EST UNE PURE MERVEILLE
@johnbrackett5818
Dinah's awesome! Thanks for this great song.