Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family. His father, Thomas Turrentine, Sr., was a saxophonist with Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans, his mother played stride piano, and his older brother Tommy Turrentine became a professional trumpet player.
He began his prolific career with blues and rhythm and blues bands, and was at first greatly influenced by Illinois Jacquet. In the 1950s, he went on to play with the groups of Lowell Fulson, Earl Bostic, and at the turn of the decade, Max Roach.
Turrentine received his only formal musical training during his military stint in the mid-'50s. In 1959, he jumped from the frying pan into the fire when he left the military and went straight into the band of the great drummer Max Roach.
He married the organist Shirley Scott in 1960 and the two frequently played and recorded together. In the 1960s, he started working with organist Jimmy Smith, and made many soul jazz recordings both with Smith and as a leader.
In the 1970s, after his professional split and divorce from Scott, Turrentine turned to jazz fusion and signed for Creed Taylor's CTI label. His first album for CTI, Sugar proved one of his biggest successes and a seminal recording for the label. He worked with Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, George Benson, Bob James, Richard Tee, Idris Muhammad, Ron Carter, Grant Green and Eric Gale, to name a few. He returned to soul jazz in the 1980s and into the 1990s.
Turrentine lived in Fort Washington, Maryland from the early 90s until his death.
He died of a stroke in New York City on September 12, 2000 and is buried in Pittsburgh's Allegheny Cemetery
My Ship
Stanley Turrentine Lyrics
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The decks are trimmed with gold,
And of jam and spice there's a paradise in the hold.
My ship's aglow with a million pearls
And rubies fill each bin,
The sun sits high in a sapphire sky when my ship comes in.
Till it appears
One fine day one spring,
But the pearls and such
They won't mean much if there's missing just one thing.
I do not care if that day arrives
That dream need never be,
If the ship I sing doesn't also bring
My own true love to me,
If the ship I sing doesn't aalso bring my own true love to me.
Stanley Turrentine's song "My Ship" has a dreamlike tone to it, expressing a longing for something that may never come to fruition. The singer describes this fantastical ship that is full of luxury and abundance, with sails made of silk and decks trimmed with gold. They imagine a paradise of jam and spice in the hold, and the entire vessel is aglow with a million pearls and rubies. The scene is complete with a sapphire sky where the sun sits high when the ship comes in. The singer seems content to wait years for the ship to arrive, but only if it brings one essential thing - their true love. The lyrics imply that no matter how abundant and luxurious this ship may be, it holds little value if the singer's true love is not by their side.
The song's contemplative mood is reinforced by the slow, soulful jazz ballad melody and Turrentine's emotive saxophone playing. The lyrics suggest the singer's willingness to wait endlessly for their true love, but also the possibility that the dream may never come true. The imagery of the silk sails, golden decks, and treasure-filled hold create a striking contrast to the simple desire for love. The final lines of the song express the sentiment that the fancy ship and its riches are ultimately meaningless without the singer's true love to share it with.
Line by Line Meaning
My ship has sails that are made of silk,
The ship that I envision is a luxurious one, with sails so fine that they are made of silk.
The decks are trimmed with gold,
In addition to the silky sails, the decks of my dream ship are adorned with gold embellishments.
And of jam and spice there's a paradise in the hold.
Below the decks, the ship contains a treasury of tasty jams and spices, creating a kind of paradise aboard the vessel.
My ship's aglow with a million pearls
My perfect ship is not just rich in gold and spices, but also adorned with a million luminescent pearls.
And rubies fill each bin,
Continuing with the ship's incredible opulence, each of the bins on board are filled with sparkling rubies.
The sun sits high in a sapphire sky when my ship comes in.
When my dream ship arrives, it will be on a day when the sky is a brilliant sapphire blue and the sun is shining high above.
I can wait the years
Despite the incredible vision of my perfect ship, I am willing to wait years for it to arrive.
Till it appears
I am patient, and willing to wait until that day when the ship finally arrives.
One fine day one spring,
I envision my dream ship arriving on a beautiful spring day.
But the pearls and such
As much as I value the fine pearls and rubies, they are not everything.
They won't mean much if there's missing just one thing.
Without this one thing, everything else on the ship is meaningless to me.
I do not care if that day arrives
Even if the day comes when my dream ship arrives, it won't matter if that one thing is missing.
That dream need never be,
If the ship can't bring that one thing, then I don't even need the dream of the ship to come true.
If the ship I sing doesn't also bring
For me, the ship is nothing unless it also brings that one thing.
My own true love to me,
That one thing that is essential, is my own true love finally coming to be with me.
If the ship I sing doesn't aalso bring my own true love to me.
Without my true love, the opulent dream ship is meaningless, and I would rather never see it at all.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IRA GERSHWIN, KURT WEILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind