The musician that critics have referred to as "astounding, flawless and captivating" (The New York Times) has played in a variety of venues from Carnegie Hall, to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice (the first concert ever presented by the museum) to programs with Joel Grey, Michael Feinstein, Steve Ross and the Smothers Brothers. In addition, Ms. Carmichael has done comic skits and performed her music on radio and TV and performed private recitals for everyone from Rod Stewart and Robert Redford to President Clinton and Gianni Agnelli.
Judy Carmichael is one of a handful of musicians who approach jazz from a perspective of its entire history. Choosing to study jazz piano from its early roots on, she explores the music deeply, infusing it with a "fresh, dynamic interpretation of her own" (Washington Post ). The National Endowment for the Arts rewarded Carmichael's knowledge of jazz piano with a major grant to present early jazz greats on film and to discuss the history and development of jazz piano with college students across the country.
Judy Carmichael’s Grammy-nominated recording “Two Handed Stride” teamed her with four giants of jazz from the Count Basie Orchestra, Red Callendar, Harold Jones, Freddie Green and Marshall Royal. She has written two books on stride piano and numerous articles on the subject of jazz. She has served on a variety of music panels at the National Endowment for the Arts and is one of the few jazz pianists honored as a Steinway Artist. She has been included in a number of jazz anthologies and at one point, to her utter surprise, turned up in the Simon and Schuster murder mystery Murder Times Two as "the stride pianist Judy Carmichael," the main suspect's favorite piano player.
Ms. Carmichael is included in "Who's Who in the East", "Who's Who in Finance and Industry in America", "Who's Who in American Woman", "American Women in Jazz", "Who's Who in the World" as well as the "Encyclopedia of Jazz".
Ms. Carmichael has appeared frequently on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, and has been featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, Entertainment Tonight and CBS' Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt and recently with Charles Osgood. She is celebrating her 15th year producing and hosting her Public Radio Show Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired, broadcast on over 170 stations throughout North America and abroad and on NPR NOW Channel 134 on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Judy Carmichael Lyrics
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You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
I forgive you, 'cause I can't forget you
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
[Repeat: x2]
I ought to cross you off my list
But when you come a-knocking at my door
And I come running back for more
I should hate you, but I guess I love you
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
The devil and the deep blue sea
These lyrics describe the difficult position of the singer in a relationship that is not quite working. The singer knows that they do not want to be with their partner and yet the fear of being alone and losing them is so great that they feel trapped between the proverbial "devil and the deep blue sea." The singer acknowledges that they should hate their partner for the pain they have caused in the past, but instead find themselves forgiving them over and over again because they cannot forget them. Even though they know that they should move on and forget about their partner, they find it difficult when they come knocking at their door.
This song captures the feeling of being stuck in a difficult and sometimes painful cycle of love and forgiveness. The singer recognizes the problems with the relationship but is unable to break free from the hold that their partner has on them. The phrase "between the devil and the deep blue sea" is an idiom that means being in a difficult or dangerous position with two equally undesirable options. In this case, the options are to stay with a partner they don't truly want or to be alone.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want you, but I'd hate to lose you
I am conflicted because I do not desire you, yet I fear losing you
You've got me in between the devil and the deep blue sea
Your actions have left me stuck in a difficult situation with no easy way out
I forgive you, 'cause I can't forget you
Despite the pain you have caused me, I am unable to let go of my feelings for you
I ought to cross you off my list
I know that it would be best for me to move on from you
But when you come a-knocking at my door
However, when you return to me seeking forgiveness, I find it hard to turn you away
Fate seems to give my heart a twist
It feels like destiny is intervening, causing my heart to feel conflicted
And I come running back for more
Despite my better judgement, I find myself returning to you again and again
I should hate you, but I guess I love you
Even though you have hurt me, I cannot help but still harbor feelings of love for you
The devil and the deep blue sea
This is a metaphor for the difficult situation I find myself in - stuck between two choices, both of which have negative outcomes
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, S.A. MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, MUSIC.INFO FINLAND OY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind