She is widely considered one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.
It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wah-dah-doo
Wah-dah-doo, dah-dah-doo, dah-dah-doo
It don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing
It don't mean a thing
It makes no difference if it's sweet or hot
Just keep that rhythm, give it everything you got
It don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing
Wa-dah-dah-doo, da-da-doo, da-da-da-dohh
Shoop-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo, dah-dah-dooh
It don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing
The lyrics of Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" discuss the importance of rhythm in music. One may have sweet or hot melodies, but without a sense of swing or groove, the music doesn't have the same effect. The lyrics suggest that all you need to do is sing, but it's not the singing that matters, but the rhythm that the singing is paired with. Even though the song's lyrics may not be complex, they deliver a crucial point- that rhythm is significant in making music.
The song's chorus repeats the phrase, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," emphasizing how much the swing style meant to the musicians and jazz enthusiasts of the time. The use of scatting, like "doo wah, doo wah," in the chorus further solidifies the idea that rhythm is the vital element that makes a song unforgettable. By simply repeating and emphasizing the phrase "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," Fitzgerald and Ellington convey not just the importance that the swing rhythm carries in this song but in all jazz.
Line by Line Meaning
It don't mean a thing
The significance of something is lost if it lacks the essence of what makes it remarkable.
If it ain't got that swing
The essential element of music characterized by lively rhythm and a sense of syncopation is needed for it to be worthwhile.
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Vocals expressing the idea of swing with syllables that convey that upbeat spirit.
All you got to do is sing
One needs only to express themselves vocally with a focus on the lively rhythm of music.
It makes no diff'rence
The specific nature of the music, whether sweet or hot, doesn't affect its value if it contains that essential rhythm.
Just give that rhythm
The essential element of music characterized by lively rhythm and a sense of syncopation is what one should focus on.
Ev'rything you got
Put all your energy and passion into that rhythm.
Oh, it don't mean a thing
The significance of something is lost if it lacks the essence of what makes it remarkable.
If it ain't got that swing
The essential element of music characterized by lively rhythm and a sense of syncopation is needed for it to be worthwhile.
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Vocals expressing the idea of swing with syllables that convey that upbeat spirit.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Duke Ellington, Irving Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@owethumhlongo1494
She deserved a title ' Queen of Jazz' without a doubt! 😊
@chaumari
It was between her and Sarah Vaughn💐
@direfranchement
She had a better title---The First Lady of Song. She was called thr Queen of Scat, and certainly she was a singer birthed of the Swing era, but she was so versatile to call her the Queen of Jazz would give insight into only one dimension of her craft. She was bigger than that.
@mthunzimhlongo660
ACTUALLY THE GODDESS OF JAZZ
@owethumhlongo1494
Indeed NJOMANE
@peterblack1639
Owethu Mhlongo yes she was clearly the Queen Of Jazz singing in a style that has long been lost.....
@inapix
I just love how the Duke clearly is in awe of her, with his little glances and smiles at her while she’s singing and his hug afterwards. Ella seems like such a lovely person, as well as such an incredible singer!
@marckodiak8513
After you mentioned this I went back and watched this, I am always just so focused on her but yes he is 🤩
@dalilabendjedou2061
I’m French and listening the song in my school Sorry my English is....😂 so I’m 12 year
@KiraSlith
I would be too, the pipes on her were incredible, dare I say a revolutionary marvel for the era. The only other places you saw anything comparable was the competitive era of rap (late 90s to the end of the 00s) and Scatman, and none of them could both fill a room with their voice and singing like that at the same time.