Shirley Horn was born and raised in Washington, D.C.. Encouraged by her grandmother, an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. Aged 12, she studied piano and composition at Howard University, later graduating from there in classical music. Horn was offered a place at the Juilliard School, but her family could not afford to send her there. Horn formed her first jazz piano trio when she was 20. Horn's early piano influences were Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal, and moving away from her classical background, Horn later said that "Oscar Peterson became my Rachmaninov, and Ahmad Jamal became my Debussy." She then became enamored with the famous U Street jazz area of Washington (largely destroyed in the 1968 riots), sneaking into jazz clubs before she was of legal age.
Horn first achieved fame in 1960, through her association with Miles Davis. Davis' praise had particular resonance in two respects: because he was so highly respected as a musician, and because he rarely offered public praise for fellow musicians at that time. Horn had, though, recorded several songs with violinist Stuff Smith in 1959 both as a pianist and a singer. After her discovery by Davis, she recorded albums on different small labels in the early 1960s, eventually landing contracts with larger labels Mercury Records and Impulse Records. She was popular with jazz critics, but did not achieve significant popular success.
Quincy Jones attempted to make Horn into a pure vocalist in several recording sessions, something he later hinted may have been a mistake. Horn was also disturbed by the changes in popular music in the 1960s following the arrival of The Beatles. Largely rejecting efforts to remake her into a popular singer, she stated: "I will not stoop to conquer."[4] From the late-1960s, she concentrated on raising her daughter Rainy with her husband, Shepherd Deering (whom she had married in 1955), and largely limited her performances to her native Washington, D.C.
Miles Davis made a rare appearance as a sideman on Horn's 1991 album You Won't Forget Me. Although she preferred to perform in small settings, such as her trio, she also recorded with orchestras, as on the 1992 album Here's to Life, the title song (lyrics by Phyllis Molinary, music by Artie Butler) of which became her signature song. A video documentary of Horn's life and music was released at the same time as "Here's To Life" and shared its title. At the time, arranger Johnny Mandel commented that Horn's piano skill was comparable to that of the noted jazz great Bill Evans. A follow-up was made in 2001, named You're My Thrill.
Horn worked with the same rhythm section for 25 years: Charles Ables (bass) and Steve Williams (drums). Don Heckman wrote in the Los Angeles Times (February 2, 1995) about "the importance of bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams to Horn's sound. Working with boundless subtlety, following her every spontaneous twist and turn, they were the ideal accompanists for a performer who clearly will tolerate nothing less than perfection".
Her albums Here's to Life, Light Out of Darkness (A Tribute to Ray Charles) and I Love You, Paris all reached number one on the Billboard jazz charts.
Due to health problems in the early 2000s, Horn had to cut back on her performances. After 2002, a foot amputation (from complications of diabetes) led her to leave the piano playing to pianist George Mesterhazy. In late 2004, Horn felt able to play piano again, and recorded a live album for Verve, at Manhattan's Au Bar with trumpet player Roy Hargrove, which did not satisfy her.[citation needed] It remains unreleased except for tracks on But Beautiful - The Best of Shirley Horn.
A breast cancer survivor, she had been battling diabetes when she died of complications from the condition, aged 71. She is interred at Ft. Lincoln Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Horn was nominated for nine Grammy Awards during her career, winning the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards for I Remember Miles, a tribute to her friend and mentor (the album's cover featuring a Miles Davis drawing of them both).
She was officially recognized by the 109th US Congress for "her many achievements and contributions to the world of jazz and American culture", and performed at The White House for several U.S. presidents. Horn was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music in 2002.
She was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2005 (the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians).
Get Out Of Town
Shirley Horn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The curtains drawn,
And I at least pretended
That love was dead and gone.
But now, from nowhere,
You come to me as before
To take my heart,
Get out of town
Before it's too late, my love.
Get out of town,
Be good to me please!
Why wish me harm?
Why not retire to a farm
And be contented to charm
The birds off the trees?
Just disappear,
I care for you much too much,
And when you are near,
Close to me dear,
We touch too much!
The thrill when we meet
Is so bitter-sweet
That, darling, it's getting me down;
So on your mark,
Get set,
Get out of town!
The song "Get Out of Town" by Shirley Horn is a ballad that talks about a woman's plea asking her lover to leave town and not come back. The first verse describes the end of a relationship, stating that the charade is over, the curtains have been drawn, and the woman is pretending that love is dead. However, her lover comes back and tries to take her heart again. The chorus repeatedly urges the lover to leave town and be good to her, without wishing her any harm.
The second verse further develops the woman's desperation, as she asks her lover to go somewhere far away, even to a farm, and charm the birds off the trees if need be. Her plea to disappear is motivated by the fact that she cares too much for him, and when he is close to her, they touch too much - meaning that his touch is irresistible and overwhelming, and she can't control her feelings. The last two lines of the song are particularly impactful, as they emphasize the mixed emotions and pain that the woman is feeling, telling her lover to "get on your mark, get set, get out of town."
Overall, the lyrics of "Get Out of Town" convey a feeling of sadness, longing, and conflict. The woman is torn between her love for her lover and her need to protect herself from being hurt again. The song's message is particularly powerful in its simplicity and directness, as the chorus echoes with urgency and regret.
Line by Line Meaning
The farce was ended,
The act or pretense of pretending that love was over has ended.
The curtains drawn,
The curtains have been drawn, signaling the end of a performance.
And I at least pretended,
Despite everything that happened, I pretended that love was over, at least for a while.
That love was dead and gone.
I pretended that love has died and was no longer present in my life.
But now, from nowhere,
Unexpectedly, you have come back into my life.
You come to me as before
You come to me with the same intensity and passion, just like before.
To take my heart,
You want to take back my heart, to have me love you again.
And break my heart once more.
But I fear that if I let you in again, you will break my heart again, just like before.
Get out of town
I want you to leave my life, to disappear from my presence.
Before it's too late, my love.
I am asking you to leave before I fall in love with you again and suffer another heartbreak.
Be good to me please!
If you truly love me, please respect my wish and leave before it's too late.
Why wish me harm?
I don't understand why you would come back into my life and cause me more pain and hurt.
Why not retire to a farm
I am asking you to leave my life and find someone or something else to occupy your time and love.
And be contented to charm
Find happiness in charming other things, like birds off the trees, for example.
The birds off the trees?
Why not be content with charming birds off the trees and not me?
Just disappear,
Just vanish from my life, without any fuss or drama.
I care for you much too much,
I still have feelings for you, but I know being with you is not good for me.
And when you are near,
When you are close to me, I feel an intense passion and desire for you.
Close to me dear,
When you are close to me, I feel a sense of love and tenderness towards you.
We touch too much!
However, when we are physically close, it's too intense and overwhelming for me.
The thrill when we meet
The excitement I feel when I see you again after a long time.
Is so bitter-sweet
It's both enjoyable and painful at the same time.
That, darling, it's getting me down;
The emotional pain caused by my feelings for you is getting me down.
So on your mark,
I am urging you to get ready to leave.
Get set,
Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally.
Get out of town!
And finally, I want you to leave and never come back again.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind