Yes Indeed
Jo Stafford Lyrics
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[Chorus:]
Yes, indeed!
Yes, indeed!
You'll shout when it hits you
Yes indeed
Yes yes
Yes you'll shout when it hits you
Yes indeed
When the spirit moves you you'll shout hallelujah
I mean
When it it hits you you'll holler
Yes indeed
Yes yes
It comes out if it's in you, yes indeed
Yes indeed
Makes you shout, Jack, it sends you
Yes indeed
Well let me hit you
When the jive starts jumping you'll shout
Let me in there
Well all right now
When it hits you you'll holler
Yes indeed
Yes indeed
The song "Yes Indeed" by Jo Stafford is an upbeat song that encourages people to let loose, dance, and have a good time. The chorus repeatedly exclaims, "Yes indeed!" which implies a sense of excitement and agreement with what is going on. The lyrics invite the listener to "get to making with the jive, boy" and to shout when the music hits them. The phrase "when it hits you you'll holler" is used several times to express how the music takes over and causes the listener to get swept up in the rhythm.
Overall, the song celebrates the joy of music and the way it can move people. The call and response structure of the verses highlights the communal nature of the experience, as the lead vocalist sings a line and the backup singers respond with "yes indeed." This reinforces the idea that everyone is in it together, succumbing to the infectious energy of the music.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes indeed!
Expressing excitement and approval
Yes indeed!
Reiterating the enthusiasm
Get to making with the jive, boy
Start dancing to Jazz music
You'll shout when it hits you
You'll become excited and shout when you feel the rhythm
Yes indeed
Agreeing that excitement will occur
Yes yes
Strongly agreeing that excitement will occur
When the spirit moves you you'll shout hallelujah
When the mood strikes you, you'll sing praises to the Lord.
I mean
Clarifying the previous statement
When it it hits you you'll holler
When the rhythm strikes you you'll shout
Yes indeed
Reiterating the excitement
Yes yes
Strongly agreeing with the previous statement
It comes out if it's in you, yes indeed
The excitement will come out naturally if it's already inside you
Makes you shout, Jack, it sends you
The music causes you to shout and feel enthusiastic
Yes indeed
Agreeing with the previous statement
Well let me hit you
Let me demonstrate how the music will make you feel
When the jive starts jumping you'll shout
When the music picks up speed and energy, you'll shout
Let me in there
Let me join in on the fun
Well all right now
Approving the fun and energy of the situation
When it hits you you'll holler
When the rhythm strikes you you'll shout
Yes indeed
Reiterating the excitement
Yes indeed
Strongly agreeing with the previous statement
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MARY C BROCKERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Trombonology
Trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and my favorite arranger, the great Sy Oliver, came up with this righteous quasi-spiritual while still in the employ of Jimmie Lunceford. Surprisingly, perhaps, the bandleader stuffily refused to record the song, finding it "sacrilegious." Later, when Sy had moved on to the Tommy Dorsey aggregation (lured from his dream of chucking orchestra work and studying law by the trombonist's promise of $5000/year more than Lunceford paid him -- remember, Sy joined TD in '39!), the bespectacled bandleader asked his star arranger to come up with something for his, Tommy's, pal, Bing, to record. Sy dug out "Yes Indeed!" which was duly executed, in September of '40, by frequent duet partners, Crosby and Connee Boswell, and brother Bob's band-within-a-band, The Bob Cats. It didn't end there, though: the Dorsey crew would take its whack, in its own way, at Oliver's glorious ode to salvation through music. The chart originally called for the entire instrumental ensemble to participate with Sy in the vocal chorus, but when he wasn't getting the feel he wanted from the band, he enlisted the services of The Pied Pipers' lead singer, Jo Stafford, who, Sy later related, immediately understood what he was after, and, with the arrangement revamped on the spot, the band pulled this one off in one take. Recorded February 17, 1941, in the arranger's trademark 2/4 time, at a session which also produced memorable treatments of Sy's charts for "Swanee River," Deep River" and Oliver original, "Swing High," this jubilant side is historic in being possibly the first interracial duet in pop music -- if anyone is aware of another such instance that precedes this one, please let me know. The also extremely fetching "Let Me Off Uptown," recorded by Gene Krupa's orchestra, with the fantastic Anita O'Day-Roy Eldridge duet, was waxed approximately three months after Dorsey's "Yes Indeed!" Sy's soft, amiable tone and Jo's clarion, bluesy notes, and the pair's hip delivery, are irresistible. Listen, too, for Buddy Rich's impeccable drumming and pianist Joe Bushkin's beautiful comping in the vocal chorus. ... Let me in there!
@iamfelixthecat7233
One of my favorite cats. 😎
@paulbrewer2374
Great comments. Thank you!
@theprophylacticprotectagai2069
Great comment & insight tho couldnt give a fark about the racial sjw BS... look at The Young QUEEN Ella Mae Morse that even today Black people first listen claim is Black... etc etc Great Music is Great Music
@Trombonology
@The Prophylactic Protect against MSM Thank you. ... Please identify where in my comment that I presented it as either fact or opinion that this side's being possibly a first instance of an interracial pop music duet in any way enhances the inherent quality of the music. It was, like other portions of my statement, background information. It seems to me that your characterization of "racial sjw BS" reveals far more about your, dare I say, "agenda" than my initial comment does about mine.
@alonzochurch3194
Pop music is a fluid term. Hoagy Carmichael and Louis Armstrong duet on a version of Rocking Chair way back in 1929. That may not meet your definition.
@shrinebox
Now this number has got some SOUL.
@jonhester8909
DJ Quads - Cruise Around brought me here. Great song.
@Joemiles27
When I worked at rca in the 40s ,I use to sneak up to bldg. 10 on the seventh floor just to watch them press a lot of my favorite records.
@jeffdawson2786
A colossal sheet of sound. When Tommy’s band sunk their teeth into a tune, they swung hard and lovely.