South African vocalist, composer, and lyricist Sathima Bea Benjamin was bor… Read Full Bio ↴South African vocalist, composer, and lyricist Sathima Bea Benjamin was born October 17, 1936 in Johannesburg and raised in Cape Town, where she began singing in church. As a youth, she first performed popular music in talent contests held during intermission at the local cinema and by the late 1950s she was singing at various nightclubs, community dances and social events. She built her repertoire watching British and American movies and listening to the radio, where she discovered Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz and pop singers who would influence her early singing style.

At the age of 21, she joined Arthur Klugman's traveling show, Coloured Jazz and Variety, on a tour of South Africa. When the production failed, she found herself stranded on the road where she was fortunate enough to meet legendary South African saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi. In 1959, she returned to Capetown where she took her place on the city’s by-then flourishing jazz scene. There she would meet pianist Dollar Brand (aka Abdullah Ibrahim), whom she would later marry. They began working together and in that same year she recorded what would have been the first jazz LP in South Africa's history. Titled My Songs for You, with accompaniment by Ibrahim’s trio, the recording of mostly standards was sadly never released.

In the aftermath of South Africa’s Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, Benjamin and Ibrahim decided to join the growing South African exile community in Europe. The couple, along with bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makhaya Ntshoko, settled in Zurich, Switzerland and worked throughout Germany and Scandinavia, meeting some of the greatest American jazz players, including Don Byas, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Drew, Ben Webster, Bud Powell, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. The artist who would have the greatest impact on Benjamin’s life, however, was the inimitable Duke Ellington.

Benjamin met Duke while he was in Zurich in 1963. Standing in the wings during most of his band’s performance, once the concert ended she insisted that Duke hear her husband’s trio at the Club Africana, a local jazz spot where the couple worked fairly regularly. Duke obliged, but insisted that Benjamin sing for him. He adored her voice and promptly arranged for the couple to fly to Paris and record separate albums for Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label. Ibrahim’s record, Duke Ellington Presents The Dollar Brand Trio, was released the following year and subsequently helped him build a following in Europe and the United States. Unfortunately, Benjamin’s recording, despite its excellence and guest appearances by both Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, inexplicably remained unreleased. (The lost date was finally put out in 1996 by Enja Records, under the title A Morning in Paris.)

Benjamin maintained a friendly relationship with Ellington, who remained an enthusiastic supporter of her singing. In 1965, Duke arranged to have her perform with his band in the U.S. at the Newport Jazz Festival. At one point, he asked her to join his band permanently, but she declined because it would have taken her away from Ibrahim, whom she had married in February of 1965. Throughout the 1960’s Benjamin and Ibrahim moved back and forth between Europe and New York City, where they struggled to make it in the jazz world. For Benjamin, who had yet to release a recording of her own, gigs were few and far between. She spent much of the period as a staunch supporter of her husband and raising their son, Tsakwe.

The year 1976 marked a turning point for Benjamin. She and Ibrahim returned to South Africa to live; she gave birth to her daughter, Tsidi; and went into the studio and recorded African Songbird, the first album under her own name to be released. The LP, made up entirely of original compositions, not only unveiled her considerable talent as a composer, but revealed her interest in South Africa’s freedom struggle. In 1979, she launched her own record label, Ekapa, to produce and distribute her and Ibrahim’s music. Between 1979 and 2002, she released eight of her own albums: Sathima Sings Ellington, Dedications, Memories and Dreams, Windsong, Lovelight, Southern Touch, Cape Town Love, and Musical Echoes.

Each of these recordings received critical acclaim hailing Benjamin’s individuality and vocal talents. Dedications was nominated for a Grammy in 1982. A mix of original compositions and standards, the records reveal the full range of her talents as a singer, songwriter and bandleader. Indeed, she had brought together some of the most talented musicians in America to accompany her, including saxophonist Carlos Ward, pianists Kenny Barron, Larry Willis and Onaje Allan Gumbs, bassist Buster Williams and drummers Billy Higgins and Ben Riley.

Bringing together her two worlds - Cape Town and New York City - has been an essential element of Benjamin’s music. She’s recorded in both places. For the most part, she has used American musicians for her U.S. recordings and South African musicians when in her native land. However, for her most recent CD, Musical Echoes, she decided to bring the American pianist and collaborator, Stephen Scott, to Cape Town to record with two South Africans, bassist Basil Moses and drummer Lulu Gontsana. The result is a true synthesis of both worlds, incorporating American jazz styles with trademark Cape Town rhythms.

Recently, Sathima has begun to receive the kinds of accolades befitting an artist of her stature. In October of 2004, South African president Thabo Mbeki bestowed upon her the Order of Ikhamanga Silver Award in recognition for her “excellent contribution as a jazz artist” in South Africa and internationally, as well as for her contribution “to the struggle against apartheid.” And in March of 2005, the prestigious art group, Pen and Brush, Inc., presented her with a Certificate of Achievement for her work as a performer, musician, composer, and “activist in the struggle for human rights in South Africa.” Sathima is featured in the March 2006 issue of Jazztimes.

Sathima’s next album, SongSpirit, is due to be released on October 17th. A compilation record, it includes tracks from her earlier albums, starting with A Morning In Paris and going through Musical Echoes, plus a previously unreleased duet with Abdullah Ibrahim from 1973.

You Go To My Head
Sathima Bea Benjamin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You go to my head
And you linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning round in my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne

You go to my head
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
And I find the very mention of you

Like the kicker in a julep or two

The thrill of the thought
That you might give a thought to my plea, cast a spell over me
Still I say to myself get a hold of yourself
Can't you see that it never can be?

You go to my head
With a smile that makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand July's
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes

Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance

You go to my head
You go to my head

Overall Meaning

In "You Go to My Head," Sathima Bea Benjamin sings about the power of someone to consume her thoughts and emotions. She compares the person to a haunting melody or a sip of sparkling burgundy brew, both of which linger in the mind and create a sense of intoxication. She acknowledges the futility of her infatuation, recognizing that her heart doesn't stand a chance in this "crazy romance." However, the thrill of the thought that the person might reciprocate her feelings casts a spell over her, leaving her powerless to resist their allure. The person's smile and eyes are particularly captivating to her, eliciting a physical response that makes her temperature rise.

The lyrics of "You Go to My Head" convey a sense of longing and yearning, as well as a recognition of the irrationality and impossibility of the singer's feelings. The use of metaphors related to alcohol and music create a sense of intoxication that mirrors the singer's emotional state. The final line, "You go to my head," is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the power that this person holds over the singer's thoughts and emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

You go to my head
You occupy my every thought and emotion.

And you linger like a haunting refrain
You stick with me and won't let go.

And I find you spinning round in my brain
You're always present and dominate my mind.

Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
You effervescence energizes me.

Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
You have a rich, indulgent quality.

And I find the very mention of you
Even hearing your name has an impact on me.

Like the kicker in a julep or two
Like a drink that has a spicy or potent flavor.

The thrill of the thought
The excitement of the possibility.

That you might give a thought to my plea, cast a spell over me
That you may consider my request has a powerful impact on me.

Still I say to myself get a hold of yourself
I remind myself to stay grounded and realistic.

Can't you see that it never can be?
I acknowledge that this is an impossible situation.

With a smile that makes my temperature rise
Your smile has a profound physical effect on me.

Like a summer with a thousand July's
You bring a warmth and brightness that is overwhelming.

You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Your gaze has a powerful effect on me.

Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Despite knowing that it won't work out.

Hasn't a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance
I have no chance in this love affair.

You go to my head
You completely consume my thoughts and emotions.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., MEMORY LANE MUSIC GROUP
Written by: J FRED COOTS, HAVEN GILLESPIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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