McCorkle was born in Berkeley, California. She studied modern languages at the University of California, Berkeley. McCorkle began singing professionally after hearing recordings of Billie Holiday in Paris in the late 1960s. She nearly became an interpreter at the European Commission in Brussels, but moved instead to London in 1972 to pursue a career in singing. While in the UK, she made two albums which, although well received, enjoyed only limited circulation.
In the late 1970s, McCorkle returned to the United States and settled in New York City, where a five-month engagement at the Cookery in Greenwich Village brought her to wider public attention and elicited rave reviews from critics.
During the 1980s, McCorkle continued to record; her maturing style and the darkening timbre of her voice greatly enhanced her performances. In the early 1990s, two of the albums McCorkle made for Concord Records, No More Blues and Sábia, were enormously successful and made her name known to the wider world. She was recorded by the Smithsonian Institution which at the time made her the youngest singer ever to have been included in its popular music series. McCorkle played Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls five times and Carnegie Hall three times, and was featured soloist with Skitch Henderson and the 80-piece New York Pops in a concert of Brazilian music.
Thanks to her linguistic skills, McCorkle translated lyrics of Brazilian, French, and Italian songs, notably those for her Brazilian album Sabia. McCorkle also had several short stories published and, in 1991, began work on her first novel. She published fiction in Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and non-fiction in the New York Times Magazine and in American Heritage, including lengthy articles on Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Irving Berlin and Mae West.
McCorkle suffered for many years from depression and cancer, and took her own life at age 55 by leaping off the balcony of her highrise Manhattan apartment. She was alone in her home at the time. The police immediately entered her home after identifying her body and found no foul play. Suicide was ruled the cause of death.
Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Howdy-do me, watch me smile
Fare-thee-well me after a while
'Cause I gotta roam
And any place I hang my hat is home
Sweetenin' water, cherry wine
Thank you kindly, suits me fine
That's my honeycomb
'Cause any place I hang my hat is home
Birds roostin' in a tree
Pick up and go, and the goin' proves
That's how it oughta be
I pick up too when the spirit moves me
(I go where it behoves me**)
Cross the river, 'round the bend
"Hello stranger!", "So long friend!"
There's a voice in the lonesome wind
That keeps whisp'ring, "Roam!"
I'm going where a welcome mat is
No matter where that is
'Cause any place I hang my hat is home
The song "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home" by Susannah McCorkle is essentially about the desire for freedom and the love of being on the move. In the opening lines of the song, McCorkle declares her free-spiritedness and says that she is always smiling and greeting people with a "howdy-do." She then goes on to say that she can't stick around in one place for too long, because she needs to wander and roam, and that wherever she finds herself, that is home to her.
In the subsequent verses, McCorkle sings about her love for sweet drinks like cherry wine, and mentions two specific locations - Kansas City and Caroline - that she apparently likes enough to compare them to a honeycomb. She then compares herself to birds that roost in trees, saying that they always move on when the time is right, and that she does the same thing. She acknowledges that saying goodbye to people can be bittersweet, but that it's all part of the journey. She ends the song by saying that she will go wherever she is welcome, and that any place she hangs her hat is home.
Overall, the message of the song is one of freedom, independence, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty and change. McCorkle sings about the joys of wandering and the pleasures of discovery, celebrating the fact that she is never tied down to one place for too long.
Line by Line Meaning
Free and easy, that's my style
I prefer to live a lifestyle without complications.
Howdy-do me, watch me smile
Greetings! Observe how I am content.
Fare-thee-well me after a while
Bid me goodbye when it's time to part ways.
'Cause I gotta roam
I have to travel around, explore and discover new places.
And any place I hang my hat is home
Wherever I decide to be, that is where I belong.
Sweetenin' water, cherry wine
I'm grateful for the important things that I have in life.
Thank you kindly, suits me fine
I am pleased with what I've been given.
Kansas City, Caroline
Both Kansas City and Caroline exist as some of my favorite places.
That's my honeycomb
Those cities are especially where I have fond memories.
'Cause any place I hang my hat is home
I am comfortable wherever I experience pleasant thoughts.
Birds roostin' in a tree
Just like birds resting at a comfortable spot, so am I.
Pick up and go, and the goin' proves
I always move on and continue to grow.
That's how it oughta be
This is just how everything is supposed to be.
I pick up too when the spirit moves me
I move on as well when my passion and excitement demand for it.
(I go where it behoves me**)
I go where it benefits me and suits me best.
Cross the river, 'round the bend
No matter where life might take me, I'll stay unwavering.
"Hello stranger!", "So long friend!"
I happily greet new faces and gladly part ways with acquaintances.
There's a voice in the lonesome wind
The sound of the wind reminds me to keep going.
That keeps whisp'ring, "Roam!"
It tells me to continue exploring and living life to the fullest.
I'm going where a welcome mat is
I simply choose to go where life is congenial.
No matter where that is
It does not matter what place it may be.
'Cause any place I hang my hat is home
As long as I feel comfortable there, that is where I belong.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., S.A. MUSIC
Written by: HAROLD ARLEN, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind