My Funny Valentine
Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker Lyrics
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You make me smile with my heart,
Your looks are laughable, un-photographical,
Yet you´re my favourite work of art
Is your figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak, are you smiling?
Not if you care for me.
Stay little valentine, stay!
Each day is Valentine´s Day
Each day is Valentine´s Day
The song "My Funny Valentine" is a tender and endearing love song, with a slight touch of irony. The lyrics describe an unconventional love, with the subject being far from perfect but still the beloved's favorite. The song has a melancholic tone, with its slow, almost mournful melody. The lyrics' paradoxical relationship of the singer's feelings for the comic Valentine, which fills them with joy, although they also acknowledge the Valentine's unconventional looks. This could be interpreted as the singer's love being much deeper and more genuine than just physical attraction. The lyrics create a vivid image of someone who is not classically beautiful but instead is uniquely charming and endearing to the singer.
The song has been popular since its release in the 1930s and has been performed by numerous artists. However, the most notable interpretation and recording of the song is that of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker in 1952. The song's popularity lies in its timeless beauty and the deeply emotional and romantic sentiment it conveys.
Line by Line Meaning
Your my funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine,
You are a peculiar but endearing and amusing Valentine to me.
You make me smile with my heart,
You have the ability to make me genuinely happy and joyful.
Your looks are laughable, un-photographical,
Your appearance is amusingly unique and cannot be captured accurately in a photograph.
Yet you´re my favourite work of art
Despite your unconventional looks, I find you to be a beautiful and treasured creation.
Is your figure less than Greek?
Do you have a less than perfect body shape in the eyes of society's standards?
Is your mouth a little weak?
Is your voice not strong or your words not eloquent?
When you open it to speak, are you smiling?
Do you speak with joy and positivity, even if your physical appearance or words may not be considered ideal?
But don´t change a hair for me,
I love you just the way you are and do not want you to change yourself for my sake.
Not if you care for me.
If you truly care for me, you would not need to change yourself to please me.
Stay little valentine, stay!
Remain as my beloved valentine, never leaving my side.
Each day is Valentine´s Day
Every day spent with you is a special and cherished Valentine's Day to me.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lamprecchtm
Wow , that's music
@pigshitpoet
In 2015, it was announced that the Gerry Mulligan quartet featuring Chet Baker's version of this song was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for the song's "cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy".
@kerota
very best take
@57dogsbody
Chet does a very clever thing here: he takes an upbeat song with (dare I say it) almost jokey lyrics and makes it heartbreaking in a simple beautiful way. If you know anybody who doesn't understand you when you tell them Chet is a very soulful player, play them this.
@bondmatty
This is played so sensitively. My favourite version.
@Rocket57ca
My fave version of this standard. Gorgeous, stark, beautifully played.
@MrDimwits
Yeah, thank you. Thank you all. Brilliant.
@sandyotis
Thanks for this, two of the very best artists ever, and who left us way too soon. Can't believe that you haven't had more hits. But no dislikes!
@ese3go
This sends me . . .
@jenng128
Have always loved this romantic melody. Just proves any instrument is capable of seducing a person's mind.👏⚘🎺