She moved to New York and became a recording vocalist with Harry James big band in 1937.
Her swing recordings with Harry James included "Jubilee", "I Can Dream Can't I", "That's The Dreamer In Me" and "Song Of The Wanderer".
Helen Humes became one of the vocalists with Count Basie's band in the late 1930s.
Her vocals with Basie's band included "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea".
During the 1940s and 1950s Helen Humes became a solo performer and worked with different bands and other vocalists including Nat King Cole.
In 1950 Humes recorded Benny Carter's "Rock Me to Sleep". She managed to bridge the gap between big band jazz swing and rhythm and blues.
She moved to Hawaii and later to Australia.
Helen Humes died in Santa Monica, California.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Humes"
Fortune Tellin Man
Helen Humes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please tell me if you can
Where where my papa was last night.
He plays harp fiddle in a band uptown.
Oh tell me can it be that he's been fiddling around.
Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me how I stand.
Is my papa treating me wrong or right?
Last night he was as strong as a lion when he left the flat,
Came home this morning just as weak as a cat.
Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me if you can
Where my papa was last night.
Don't tell him where I was.
Just tell me where he was last night.
Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me where I stand.
Is my papa treating me wrong or right?
My papa never would leave me
All alone and blue
Especially when there was a little homework to do.
Oh fortune tellin' man,
Please tell me if you can
Where my papa was last night.
Don't tell him where I was.
Just tell me where he was last night.
The song "Fortune Tellin' Man" by Helen Humes is about a daughter's concern for her father's whereabouts. The lyrics depict the daughter's anxiety about her father's activities and duty towards her. She asks a fortune teller about her father's whereabouts and his behavior towards her. The daughter is worried that her father might be cheating on her mother, which is reflected in the following lines, "Oh tell me can it be that he's been fiddling around. Is my papa treating me wrong or right?" The daughter is not sure whether her father is treating her mother fairly or not.
The daughter reveals that her father left strong but came back weak. The lyrics "Last night he was as strong as a lion when he left the flat, Came home this morning just as weak as a cat" indicate that something happened to her father, and she is not sure what it was. The daughter had a reason to worry about her father's behavior, and she seeks answers from the fortune teller. She is concerned about her father's activities and wants to know if he is being faithful to her mother or not. The song is relatable as it talks about a situation that can happen in anyone's life, and how a person feels when they don't know what has happened to their loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh fortune tellin' man
Addressing the fortune teller as a person who predicts the future.
Please tell me if you can
Requesting his capability to provide the required information.
Where where my papa was last night.
Inquiring about the whereabouts of her father's presence the previous evening.
He plays harp fiddle in a band uptown.
Explaining his father's musical profession.
Oh tell me can it be that he's been fiddling around.
Asking whether her father has been cheating on her mother.
Please tell me how I stand.
Requesting an analysis of her present situation.
Is my papa treating me wrong or right?
Asking if her father's behavior towards her is proper or inappropriate.
Last night he was as strong as a lion when he left the flat,
Describing the condition of her father when he departed their place the previous night.
Came home this morning just as weak as a cat.
Telling her father's condition when he arrived home early in the morning.
Don't tell him where I was.
Asking the fortune teller not to disclose her whereabouts to her father.
Just tell me where he was last night.
Requesting information about her father's place the previous night.
My papa never would leave me
Reassurance about her father's care towards her.
All alone and blue
Expressing her emotional state of being left by her father for the night.
Especially when there was a little homework to do.
Stating a reason for her father not leaving her alone at night.
Writer(s): Helen Humes
Contributed by Tristan O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.