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.
Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
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Trailing the rails, I'm a roamin' the seas.
Like the birdies that sing in the trees,
Pleasin' to live, livin' to please.
The sky is the only roof I have over my head,
And when I'm weary, mother nature makes me a bed.
I'm just goin' along as I please,
The sky is the only roof I have over my head,
And when I'm weary, mother nature makes me a bed.
I'm just goin' along as I please,
Breezin' along with the breeze.
The song "Sometimes I'm Happy" by Susannah McCorkle is a tribute to the simple joys of life. The lyrics describe a carefree wanderer who is "just breezin' along with the breeze." The singer is traveling aimlessly, roaming the seas and trailing the rails, with no destination in sight. He is living life to the fullest, enjoying the beauty of nature around him and taking pleasure in the small things that make life worth living.
The first verse describes the singer's admiration for the birds that sing in the trees, as they too are "pleasin' to live, livin' to please." This sentiment speaks to the idea that life is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated, and that all living creatures have the right to happiness and fulfillment.
The second verse speaks to the singer's closeness with nature, as mother nature provides him with a bed when he is weary. This suggests that the singer is living in harmony with the natural world and is able to find peace and comfort in his surroundings. Overall, the song is a celebration of the simple pleasures in life and a reminder that happiness can be found in even the most unexpected places.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just breezin' along with the breeze,
I am taking life as it comes and not worrying much about anything.
Trailing the rails, I'm a roamin' the seas.
I am constantly moving and exploring new places and experiences.
Like the birdies that sing in the trees,
I find joy in the simple pleasures of life, just like how birds sing happily in the trees.
Pleasin' to live, livin' to please.
I enjoy my life and try to make others happy as well.
The sky is the only roof I have over my head,
I do not have a permanent home, but I find comfort in the beauty of the sky above me.
And when I'm weary, mother nature makes me a bed.
When I am tired, I can rest in the natural world around me and find peace.
I'm just goin' along as I please,
I am living life on my own terms and not trying to conform to others' expectations.
Breezin' along with the breeze.
I am living without stress or worries, letting things happen naturally like a breeze.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., MEMORY LANE MUSIC GROUP
Written by: HAVEN GILLESPIE, RICHARD WHITING, RICHARD A. WHITING, SEYMOUR B SIMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind