Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy (where she lived for many years) as well as in her native United States. She has recorded and performed with some of the most notable figures in the American jazz scene.
Youth and early career in the states
Merrill was born in 1930 to Croatian immigrant parents. She began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx at the age of fourteen. By the time she was sixteen, Merrill had taken up music full time. In 1952, Merrill made her recording debut when she was asked to sing "A Cigarette For Company" with the Earl Hines Band; the song was released on their Xanadu album. Etta Jones made her debut on the same album.
At this time she was married to musician Aaron Sachs. They divorced in 1956.
As a result of the exposure she received from "A Cigarette for Company" and two subsequent singles recorded for the Roost record label, Merrill was signed by Mercury Records for their new EmArcy label.
In 1954, Merrill recorded her first (and to date most acclaimed) LP, an eponymous record featuring legendary jazz trumpet player Clifford Brown and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford, among others. It was to be one of Brown's last recordings, as he was killed in a car accident just two years later. The album was produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, who was then just twenty-one years old. The success of Helen Merrill prompted Mercury to sign her for an additional four-album contract.
Merrill's follow-up to Helen Merrill was the 1956 LP, Dream of You, which was produced and arranged by bebop arranger and pianist Gil Evans. Evans' work on Dream of You was his first in many years. His arrangements on Merrill's laid the musical foundations for his work in following years with Miles Davis.
Success abroad
After recording sporadically through the late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill spent much of her time touring Europe, where she enjoyed more commercial success than she had in the United States. She settled for a time in Italy recording an album there, and doing live concerts with jazz notables Chet Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz. Merrill returned to the U.S. in the 1960s, but moved to Japan in 1967 after touring there. Merrill developed a following in Japan that remains strong to this day. In addition to recording while in Japan, Merrill became involved in other aspects of the music industry, producing albums for Trio Records and hosting a show on a Tokyo radio station.
Later career
Merrill returned to the US in 1972 and has continued recording and regular touring since then. Her later career has seen her experiment in different music genres. She has recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album and a record's worth of Rodgers and Hammerstein, among many others.
Two albums from Merrill's later career have been tributes to past musical partners. In 1987, Merrill and Gil Evans recorded fresh arrangements of their classic Dream of You; the new recordings were released under the title Collaboration and became the most critically acclaimed of Merrill's albums in the 1980s.
In 1987 she co-produced a CD "Billy Eckstine sing with Benny Carter" and sing in duet with Mr.B two ballads.
In 1995 she recorded Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown as a tribute to the late trumpeter.
One of Merrill's millennium released recordings draws from her Croatian heritage as well as her American upbringing. Jelena Ana Milcetic, a.k.a. Helen Merrill (2000), combines jazz, pop and blues songs with several traditional Croatian songs sung in Croatian.
Helen Merrill has been married three times, first to musician Aaron Sachs, second time to UPI vice president the late Donald J Brydon, and third to arranger-conductor the late Torrie Zito. She has one child, a son, Allan P Sachs, also a singer, who is professionally known as Alan Merrill.
Lilac Wine
Helen Merrill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gave myself in that misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
Under a lilac tree
I made wine from the lilac tree
Put my heart in its recipe
It makes me see what I want to see
and be what I want to be
Do things I never should do
I drink much more that I ought to drink
Because I brings me back you
Lilac wine is sweet and heady, like my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, like my love
Listen to me... I cannot see clearly
Isn't that she coming to me nearly here?
Lilac wine is sweet and heady where's my love?
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, where's my love?
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?
Isn't that she, or am I just going crazy, dear?
Lilac Wine, I feel unready for my love
The lyrics of the song Lilac Wine by Helen Merrill depict the overwhelming power of memory and how it can both haunt and heal. The singer describes losing himself/herself in a cool and damp night, probably trying to distract his/her mind from thinking about something painful. In this state of vulnerability, the singer becomes entranced by a strange delight that takes over him/her under a lilac tree. It is interesting to note that lilac trees have a strong association with memory and emotional attachments, and the scent of lilacs is said to evoke feelings of nostalgia and lost love. The singer also makes wine from the lilac tree and puts his/her heart in its recipe, perhaps symbolizing a desire to capture and preserve a moment of happiness or to numb the pain with alcohol.
The chorus of the song brings out the bittersweet quality of the singer's emotions, as Lilac Wine is described as sweet and heady, like his/her love, but also making him/her unsteady and unclear in thinking. The singer admits to drinking too much and doing things he/she never should do because it brings back the memories of the loved one. The fragility of the singer's mental state is evident as s/he wonders if everything is just hazy because of the effects of the wine or because the loved one is actually near. The song ends with the singer feeling unready for love, perhaps indicating that the memories and pain are still too fresh to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
I lost myself on a cool damp night
I was emotionally vulnerable on a night where the atmosphere was cool and moist, allowing me to lose my sense of self.
Gave myself in that misty light
I allowed myself to be vulnerable and exposed in the soft, hazy light of the misty evening.
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
I experienced a strange, unknown pleasure that was so potent that it completely engrossed me.
Under a lilac tree
I was under a tree with purple flowers known as a lilac tree.
I made wine from the lilac tree
I turned the lilac flowers into wine, perhaps attempting to preserve or extend the pleasurable feelings.
Put my heart in its recipe
I poured my emotions into the wine, making it a reflection of my heart.
It makes me see what I want to see
Drinking the lilac wine makes me see things the way I want them to be, rather than how they truly are.
and be what I want to be
The wine also allows me to behave the way I want to, rather than how I know I should.
When I think more than I want to think
When I overthink my situation or my feelings, more than I'd like to, I turn to the wine to help me cope.
Do things I never should do
Drinking the wine often prompts me to act in ways that I normally wouldn’t or that I know are not wise.
I drink much more that I ought to drink
I always end up drinking more wine than is good for me, because I feel that it can bring me closer to my love.
Because I brings me back you
I indulge in the surge of feeling that the wine brings, because it reminds me of the person I love, and the feelings I have for them.
Lilac wine is sweet and heady, like my love
The lilac wine is a perfect representation of my love. It is delicious and intoxicating, but also has an effect on me that somewhat clouds my judgement.
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, like my love
The wine makes me feel dizzy and unsure, similar to the way that love makes me feel.
Listen to me... I cannot see clearly
The wine has impaired my ability to perceive things clearly, as if I am not seeing everything as I normally would.
Isn't that she coming to me nearly here?
I am hallucinating or imagining that the person I love is approaching me, possibly influenced by the effects of the wine.
Lilac wine is sweet and heady where's my love?
The delicious, intoxicating wine reminds me of my love, but also makes me wonder where they are at the moment.
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, where's my love?
The wine continues to make me feel dizzy and uncertain, making me think about the whereabouts of my love and our relationship.
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?
I am aware that the wine has affected me to the point where everything appears to be unclear and difficult to understand.
Isn't that she, or am I just going crazy, dear?
I am unsure whether what I am seeing or hearing is real, or if I am simply imagining it, possibly due to the effects of the wine.
Lilac Wine, I feel unready for my love
The wine and its effects have made me feel unsure about my readiness for love, and whether I am able to handle its emotions and complexities.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James H. Shelton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind