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.
Talk To Me Baby
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
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It can happen to you if you're young at heart
For it's hard, you will find
To be narrow of mind if you're young at heart
You can go to extremes with impossible schemes
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams
And life gets more exciting with each passing day
Don't you know that it's worth
Every treasure on earth to be young at heart
For as rich as you are
It's much better by far to be young at heart
And if you should survive to a hundred and five
Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive
And here is the best part, you have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart
And if you should survive to a hundred and five
Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive
And here is the best part, you have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart
The lyrics of Susannah McCorkle's song "Talk to Me Baby" express the importance of staying young at heart, regardless of age or circumstance. The opening lines, "Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you if you're young at heart," suggest that believing in magic and maintaining a sense of wonder and optimism can lead to unexpected and wonderful things in life. The following lines, "For it's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind if you're young at heart," reinforce the idea that being open-minded and flexible in one's thinking is crucial to living a fulfilling and joyful life.
Line by Line Meaning
Fairy tales can come true
Improbable and unrealistic dreams can be realized
It can happen to you if you're young at heart
Having a youthful outlook on life increases your chances of success
For it's hard, you will find
It's difficult to remain open-minded
To be narrow of mind if you're young at heart
Being young at heart enables one to stay open-minded
You can go to extremes with impossible schemes
Having a youthful perspective allows for bold and inventive thinking
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams
A young-at-heart attitude allows for resilience in the face of setbacks
And life gets more exciting with each passing day
Having a youthful spirit makes life more exciting and fulfilling
And love is either in your heart or on it's way
You either have love in your life or it's on the horizon
Don't you know that it's worth
It's important to recognize the value of a youthful mindset
Every treasure on earth to be young at heart
Having a youthful spirit is more valuable than any material possession
For as rich as you are
Regardless of wealth or status
It's much better by far to be young at heart
A youthful perspective is more fulfilling than any monetary wealth
And if you should survive to a hundred and five
If you live a long life
Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive
There's so much to gain from living a long and fulfilling life
And here is the best part, you have a head start
Those who are young at heart have an advantage in living a long, fulfilling life
If you are among the very young at heart
If you have a youthful spirit
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Carolyn Leigh, Johnny Richards
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind