Susannah McCorkle (1 January 1946 – 19 May 2001) was an American jazz singe… Read Full Bio ↴Susannah McCorkle (1 January 1946 – 19 May 2001) was an American jazz singer much admired for her direct, unadorned singing style and quiet intensity.

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.

From This Moment On
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics

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From this moment on
You for me, dear
Only two for tea, dear
From this moment on

From this happy day
No more blue songs
Only hoop-de-doo songs

From this moment on

You've got the love I need so much
Got the skin I love to touch
Got the arms to hold me tight
Got the sweet lips to kiss me goodnight

From this moment on
You and I, babe
We'll be ridin' high, babe
Every care is gone
From this moment on

You've got the love I need so much
Got the skin I love to touch
Got the arms to hold me tight
Got the sweet lips to kiss me goodnight

From this moment on
You and I, babe
We'll be ridin' high, babe
Every care is gone
From this moment
From this moment

This very moment
This moment on

Overall Meaning

The song "From This Moment On" is a love song in which the singer expresses her joy and happiness about meeting someone special. The opening line sets the tone for the entire song, with the singer declaring that only the two of them will be together from now on. She is grateful to have found someone who brings happiness into her life and replaces anything blue with hoop-de-doo songs. The chorus is repeated twice, emphasizing the theme of the two of them being together and exploring their newfound love.

The second verse is an ode to the many qualities that the singer adores in her love interest. He has the love that she needs, the skin she loves to touch, the arms to hold her tight and the sweet lips that kiss her goodnight. The chorus repeats again, underscoring the mutual feelings of love and happiness. In the final line, the singer repeats the phrase "from this moment on" three times, punctuating the urgency and excitement of the moment as they embrace this new chapter together.

Line by Line Meaning

From this moment on
Starting now and continuing into the future

You for me, dear
You are meant to be with me

Only two for tea, dear
Just you and me are enough for a pleasant time

From this happy day
Starting from this day which brings joy

No more blue songs
No more sad or melancholy songs

Only hoop-de-doo songs
Only happy and lively songs

You've got the love I need so much
You have the affection that I deeply desire

Got the skin I love to touch
Your skin is so pleasant to touch and I love it

Got the arms to hold me tight
You have the arms that can embrace me fully

Got the sweet lips to kiss me goodnight
You have the tender lips that give me the perfect goodnight kiss

You and I, babe
You and I are companions