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.
For All We Know
Dinah Washington Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We may never meet again
Before you go
Make this moment sweet again
We won't say goodbye
Until the last minute
I might hold out my hand
Check, 'cause my heart's gonna be in it
Oh, for all we know
This may only be a dream
We come and we go
Like a ripple on a stream
So love me tonight
Tomorrow was made for some
Tomorrow may never come, oh
For all we know
So love, love me tonight
Tomorrow was made for some
Tomorrow may never come
For all we know
"For All We Know" is a song by Dinah Washington that explores the uncertainty of life and the fleeting nature of love. The verses suggest that the end of a romantic encounter is near, as the singer feels that they may never meet again after this moment. They simultaneously try to elongate and sweeten the present moment as they are uncertain about what the future could bring. The line "We won't say goodbye until the last minute" is particularly poignant, as it suggests a desperate attempt to hold on to the present moment for as long as possible. The singer acknowledges that life is unpredictable and fickle and compares human existence to a "ripple on the stream", which highlights the insignificant and temporary nature of our time on earth.
The chorus then moves to a more hopeful note, as the singer asks their lover to love them tonight, even though tomorrow is uncertain. It's a plea to enjoy the present moment and not worry about what may happen in the future. This is a common theme in love songs, where love is seen as a temporary oasis in the unpredictable flow of life. The song's lyrics offer a mixture of melancholy and optimism, simultaneously acknowledging the fragility of life while also celebrating the power of love to make every moment feel important.
Line by Line Meaning
For all we know
We don't really have a full understanding of our future, it's full of uncertainties.
We may never meet again
It's quite possible that our time together could be limited, and this moment might be all we have.
Before you go, make this moment sweet again
Before parting ways, let's make sure that this moment remains a happy one.
We won't say goodbye until the last minute
We're not going to say our farewells until it's absolutely necessary. We still want to cherish each and every moment we have together.
I might hold out my hand, check, 'cause my heart's gonna be in it
When it comes time to say goodbye, I might hold out my hand for a final embrace, because I'll truly mean it with all my heart.
Oh, for all we know, this may only be a dream
We don't know for certain if our time spent together is real or not, but we should still enjoy it and cherish it for what it is.
We come and we go like a ripple on a stream
Life is unpredictable and can change in an instant. Our time together is short and fleeting, like a ripple in a stream.
So love me tonight, tomorrow was made for some
Let's cherish our moment together right now, as we don't know what's in store for the future.
Tomorrow may never come, oh, for all we know
Once again, we don't know what the future holds. It's always best to live in the moment and truly enjoy each other's company.
So love, love me tonight, tomorrow was made for some
Let's enjoy the moment we have together right now, because who knows what tomorrow may bring.
Tomorrow may never come, for all we know
No one has the ability to predict the future. Let's enjoy today and hope for a better tomorrow.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J Fred Coots, Samuel M Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
YourAnjl
I treasure my collection of Dinah Washington songs. Such warmth and smoothness in her voice!
Christine McGill
Could spend hours listening to Dinah...this was a favourite of my fathers....and mine too.
X X
beautiful voice and beautiful song
sauquoit13456
On this day in 1962 {September 5th} Dinah Washington performed her covered version of the 1934 song "For All We Know" on the Dick Clark ABC-TV weekday-afternoon program 'American Bandstand'...
A little over two weeks earlier on August 19th, 1962 the song entered Billboard's Top 100 at position #88, that would also it's peak position on the chart, for it's second and last charted week it was at #97...
Between 1944 and 1961 the 'Queen of the Blues' had forty-seven records on the R&B Singles chart, an amazing thirty-five made the Top 10 with five reaching #1*, "Am I Asking Too Much" for 1 week in 1948, "Baby Get Lost" for 2 weeks in 1949, "Baby, You Got What It Takes", with Brook Benton, for 10 weeks in 1960, "A Rockin' Good Way", with Brook Benton, for 4 non-consecutive weeks for 1960, and "This Bitter End" for 1 week in 1960...
Sadly, Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones, passed away at the young age of 39 on December 14th, 1963...
* She just missed having a sixth #1 record when her "It's Too Soon To Know" peaked at #2 in 1948...
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FOR ALL WE KNOW
1962
(Dinah Washington)
For all we know
We may never meet again
Before you go
Make this moment sweet again
We won't say goodnight
Until the last minute
I'll hold out my hand
And my heart will be in it
For all we know
This may only be a dream
We come and we go
Like the ripples of a stream
So love me, love me tonight
Tomorrow was made for some
Tomorrow may never come
For all we know