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.
If I Should Lose You
Dinah Washington Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The stars would fall from the sky
If I should lose you
The leaves would wither and die
The birds in Maytime
Would sing a mournful refrain
And I would wander around
With you beside me
The rose would bloom in the snow
With you beside me
No winds of winter would blow
I gave you my love
And I was living a dream
But living would seem in vain
If I lost you
The lyrics of Dinah Washington's song, If I Should Lose You, are those of heartbreak and fear of loss. The first two lines, "If I should lose you, the stars would fall from the sky, if I should lose you, the leaves would wither and die," indicate the magnitude of the person's fear of losing their loved one. The stars symbolize the grandeur of their love and the leaves represent the natural beauty of their relationship. Losing either would be heartbreaking, catastrophic and lifeless.
The lyrics continue to describe the emptiness and sorrow that the person would feel. They would be surrounded by nature but rather than finding solace in it, it would serve as a reminder of their loss. The birds in Maytime singing a mournful refrain mirrors the person's sorrowful mood. The mention of wandering around hating the sound of rain emphasizes the bleakness of their emotional state.
The third and fourth stanzas describe how the person's life would be different, if their loved one were to be with them. Being in their presence would cause even the snow to be unable to stop the rose from blooming, and the winds of winter would have no effect. These lines suggest that the love they have is strong enough to withstand any weather, and are a testament to how significant their loved one is to them.
Finally, the song alludes to the fact that the person feels like they are living in a dream, with their loved one. But, if they were to lose them, living would seem in vain. This line emphasizes the gravity of their love for their significant other, and how emptiness would take the place of that love if it were lost.
Line by Line Meaning
If I should lose you
The singer is expressing the magnitude of their love for someone and stating that their life would be incomplete without them.
The stars would fall from the sky
The loss of the loved one would be of such great magnitude that it would disrupt the natural harmony and order of the universe.
The leaves would wither and die
The vibrancy and color that the loved one brought to the singer's life would be lost, leading to a dull and lifeless existence.
The birds in Maytime would sing a mournful refrain
The beauty and joy of nature would be overshadowed by the absence of the loved one, causing even birds to sing a sad tune.
And I would wander around hating the sound of rain
The artist would be lost and unable to find solace even in the rhythmic sound of falling rain without the presence of the loved one.
With you beside me, the rose would bloom in the snow
The loved one brings so much joy and beauty in the singer's life that even in the harshest environments like the snow, the rose (a symbol of love) would still flourish.
With you beside me, no winds of winter would blow
The singer feels safe and protected from the harsh realities of life when the loved one is by their side.
I gave you my love
The artist expresses their vulnerability and commitment to the loved one.
And I was living a dream
Being in love with the person felt like a dream, a surreal experience that felt too good to be true.
But living would seem in vain if I lost you
The artist would feel their existence to be meaningless and hopeless if they lost the person they love so much.
Writer(s): Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger
Contributed by Jordyn P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.