James Columbus (Jay or Hootie) McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006… Read Full Bio ↴James Columbus (Jay or Hootie) McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American blues and swing pianist, bandleader, and singer.

McShann was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and began working as a professional musician in 1931, performing around Tulsa, Oklahoma and neighboring Arkansas. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1936, and set up his own big band, which featured Charlie Parker (from 1937 to 1942), Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster and Walter Brown. Although its book included both swing and blues numbers, the band played blues on most of its records; its most popular recording was "Confessin' the Blues." The group disbanded when McShann was drafted into the Army in 1944, and he was unable to successfully restart it when he got out.

After the war McShann began to lead small groups featuring blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon. Witherspoon started recording with McShann in 1945, and fronting McShann's band, had a hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business." McShann then played in obscurity until 1969, when he became popular as a singer as well as a pianist, often performing with Claude Williams. He continued recording and touring through the 1990s. Well into his 80s McShann still performed occasionally, particularly in the Kansas City area and Toronto Ontario.

Crime-fiction writer Elmore Leonard featured McShann as a character in his 2005 novel, The Hot Kid.

On December 7, 2006, McShann died at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City.

Oh! Lady Be Good
Jay McShann Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Listen to my tale of woe,
It's terribly sad but true,
All dressed up, no place to go
Each evening I'm awfully blue.

I must win some handsome guy
Can't go on like this,
I could blossom out I know,

With somebody just like you. So

Oh, sweet and lovely lady, be good
Oh, lady, be good to me
I am so awfully misunderstood
So lady, be good to me
Oh, please have some pity
I'm all-alone in this big city
I tell you I'm just a lonesome babe in the wood,
So lady be good to me.

Oh, please have some pity
I'm all alone in this big city
I tell you I'm just a lonesome babe in the wood,

So lady be good to me.
Oh lady be good to me.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Oh Lady be Good" by Jay McShann and His Orchestra are a plea for a lover to come into the singer's life and bring him out of his current state of loneliness. The story is one of sadness, as the singer is all dressed up with nowhere to go, and each night he is overcome with melancholy. He believes that if he can find someone like the lady he is addressing, his life will bloom like a flower in spring.

The lyrics speak to a universal experience of seeking love and companionship. The singer is lost and alone, searching for someone to connect with and bring him out of his misery. The song has a lighthearted, playful quality to it, with the singer asking the lady to be good to him in a charming and endearing way.

Overall, "Oh Lady be Good" is a song about the power of love to transform lives. The singer is hoping that the lady he is addressing will be the one to bring him out of his sad and lonely state, and the song is a call to anyone who has ever felt lost and alone to hold on to hope that there is someone out there for them.

Line by Line Meaning

Listen to my tale of woe,
Please hear my sad story,

It's terribly sad but true,
It is a very unfortunate reality,

All dressed up, no place to go
I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go,

Each evening I'm awfully blue.
I feel extremely sad every evening.

I must win some handsome guy
I need to find a handsome man to win,

Can't go on like this,
I can't continue to live this way,

I could blossom out I know,
I have the potential to blossom if given the opportunity,

With somebody just like you. So
I need someone like you to help me.

Oh, sweet and lovely lady, be good
Oh, kind and beautiful lady, please be good to me,

Oh, lady, be good to me
Please treat me kindly,

I am so awfully misunderstood
Many people don't understand me,