Kay Starr was successful in every field of music she tried, jazz, country and pop. But her roots were in jazz, Billie Holiday, considered by many the greatest jazz singer of all time, called Starr "the only white woman who could sing the blues."
She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz".
Kay Starr was born on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mother, Annie, was of mixed Irish and American Indian heritage. When her father got a job installing water sprinkler systems, the family moved to Dallas, Texas.
While her father worked for the Automatic Sprinkler Company, her mother raised chickens, and Kay used to sing to the chickens in the coop. As a result of the fact that her aunt, Nora, was impressed by her singing, she began to sing at the age of seven on a Dallas radio station, WRR, first in a talent competition where she finished third one week and won every week thereafter, then with her own weekly fifteen minute show. She sang pop and "hillbilly" songs with a piano accompaniment. By the age of ten, she was making $3 a night, a lot of money in the Depression days.
As a result of her father's changing jobs, her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and she continued performing on the radio, singing "Western swing music," still mostly a mix of country and pop. It was while she was on the Memphis radio station WMPS that, as a result of misspellings in her fan mail, she and her parents decided to give her the name "Kay Starr". At the age of fifteen, she was chosen to sing with the Joe Venuti orchestra. Venuti had a contract to play in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis which called for his band to feature a girl singer, which he did not have; Venuti's road manager heard her on the radio, and suggested her to Venuti. Because she was still in junior high school, her parents insisted that Venuti take her home no later than midnight.
Although she had brief stints in 1939 with Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller (who hired her in July of that year when his regular singer, Marion Hutton, was sick), she spent most of her next few years with Venuti, until he dissolved his band in 1942. It was, however, with Miller that she cut her first record: "Baby Me"/"Love with a Capital You." It was not a great success, in part because the band played in a key more appropriate for Marion Hutton, which was less suited for Kay's vocal range.
Kay's Lament
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All I ever got's a worried mind
(Sister Katie, sing it sister Katie)
Worry, worry, worry
(Sister Katie, sing it sister Katie)
All I ever got's a worried mind
(Sister Katie, sing it sister Katie)
You tell me that you love me
Then turn around and treat me so unkind
(Sister Katie, sing it sister Katie)
People tell me do, then people tell me don't
Some times I think I will
And then again I think I won't
(Sister Katie, sing it, sister Katie)
Stay in love with you
Even though I know I'd rather lose
(Sister Katie, sing it, sister Katie)
Oh on all my love songs
All I'd rather do is sing the blues
I may be wrong
But I won't be wrong all day
(Sister Katie, shout it sister Katie)
I may be wrong
But I won't be wrong all day
(Sister Katie, shout it sister Katie)
I know you're gonna miss me
On a cold, cold rainy day
(Sister Katie, shout it sister Katie)
People tell me do, then people tell me don't
Some times I think I will
And then again I think I won't
Stay in love with you
Even though I know I'd rather lose
(Sister Katie, shout it sister Katie)
Oh on all my love songs
All I'd rather do is sing the blues
(Sister Katie, shout it sister Katie)
Oh you don't love me
And I know I really shouldn't care
(Sister Katie, rock it sister Katie)
Oh you don't love me
And I know that I really shouldn't care
(Sister Katie, rock it sister Katie)
I can find your kind anytime, anyplace, anywhere
(Sister Katie, rock it sister Katie)
Now people tell me do, then people tell me don't
Some times I think I will
And then again I think I won't
Stay in love with you
(Sister Katie, rock it sister Katie)
Even though I know I'd rather lose
Oh on all my love songs
All I'd rather do is sing the blues
(Sister Katie, rock it sister Katie)
All I wanna, wanna do, is sing, is sing the blues
(Sister Katie, rock it sister Katie)
"Kay's Lament" by Kay Starr is a sorrowful song of lament and heartache. Throughout the song, the singer expresses the constant worry and fear that consumes her mind as a result of being in an unhealthy relationship. She begins by expressing that worry is all she ever gets, and no matter how much she is told that she is loved, the actions of the person she is with constantly contradict their words. The repetition of "worry, worry, worry" emphasizes the constant mental burden that consumes her.
The lyrics continue to express the singer's indecisiveness about the relationship, stating that sometimes she wants to leave, but other times she doesn't. Even though she knows it is not healthy to stay in the relationship, she can't help being in love and would rather endure heartache than be without the one she loves. The repetition of the phrase "all I'd rather do is sing the blues" highlights the emotional weight that the situation takes on her.
In the final verse, the singer acknowledges that her partner does not love her, and she admits that she shouldn't care. However, she still feels the pain of rejection and the fear of being alone. The song ends with the repetition of the desire to sing the blues, emphasizing the deep-rooted sadness that she feels.
Line by Line Meaning
Worry, worry, worry
I am anxious and troubled
All I ever got's a worried mind
I am constantly worried and cannot find peace
You tell me that you love me
You express your affection for me
Then turn around and treat me so unkind
But you behave cruelly and unfairly towards me
People tell me do, then people tell me don't
I am receiving conflicting advice from others
Some times I think I will
I consider taking action
And then again I think I won't
But then I hesitate and reconsider
Even though I know I'd rather lose
Despite knowing it may result in defeat, I choose to stay in love with you
All I'd rather do is sing the blues
Music is the only way for me to express my heartache
I may be wrong
I admit I may be mistaken
But I won't be wrong all day
But I will not continue to be wrong forever
I know you're gonna miss me
I predict that you will regret losing me
On a cold, cold rainy day
At a time when you are feeling desolate and alone
Oh you don't love me
It is clear that you do not have genuine feelings for me
And I know I really shouldn't care
Although I still feel hurt, I understand that I should not let it affect me
I can find your kind anytime, anyplace, anywhere
There are many people like you, and it will not be difficult for me to find someone else
All I wanna, wanna do, is sing, is sing the blues
All I want to do is sing songs that reflect my sad and melancholy mood
Writer(s): H Stanley, K Starr
Contributed by Jackson K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fantasy Dreamer
Love this!!
So energetic!!!
(Sounds like a song Carmen Miranda would sing 😄)
Jannetje Bicker
Thank you for sharing! Never heard this song before, enjoyed listening to it!👍💐😊🌺😊
vinylsingleman
I would be willing to bet, that if they had just taken out those background singers going "sing it sister Kay", this would have been a much bigger hit.
Fred
Has an R&B flavour to it.
Henri de Lagardère
Just in case anyone wonders who this Sister Katy might be, Kay's real first name was Catherine. I may be wrong but I won't be wrong always if I state that Catherine Laverne Starks was the most versatile singer of them all, and I would say that even Little Jimmy Rushing would concede that her Goin' to Chicago really more than just entered his impressive orbit even if this rather trivialized lament doesn't. One of my all-time favorite songbirds, regardless of the musical material.
Henri de Lagardère
Darryl, when writing the above I felt the strong temtayshun to put this hot coupling on the Jo scale, and the duets with TEF on the Kay scale, and authenticity outweighed parody, as gravitas did with levitas, for this round ...
Darryl C Preston
@Henri de Lagardère Well, Kay did have a connection with the Man upstairs; but Jo's adventure with Red Ingle is the white heat of versatility!
Henri de Lagardère
A discussion I'd like to resume very much just as I wouldn't say no to degusting Meursault Perrières and Pommard Rugiens while, as long as free samples were coming in, never to be sure who to call the victor, or, if someone threw yet another contestant into the race, we'd soon be too sauced to come to any reasonable decision or whatsoever, but we certainly would have a ball trying, whether it's raining or not.
Trombonology Erstwhile
Naw, Jo was the most versatile. You're gonna long for her, baby, one of these old rainy days. ... Kay was marvelous, though.
Chris Boudreaux
I loved this rocker when it came out in 1952. I was only 8 yrs old then; but it made me "rock with Sister Katy>" Today, at age 77, I'm still rockin' with Sister Katy.