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.
This Funny World
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Makes fun of the things that you strive for
This funny world
Can laugh at the dreams you′re alive for.
If you're beaten, conceal it!
There′s no pity for you
For the world cannot feel it.
Just keep to yourself
This funny world
Can turn right around and forget you.
It's always sure
To roll right along when you're through.
If yoo are broke you Shouldn′t mind.
It′s all a joke, for you will find
This funny world is making fun of you.
The lyrics of Susannah McCorkle's This Funny World are a commentary on the nature of the world we live in. It is a world that often belittles and mocks the very things that people aspire to, and it can be a harsh and unforgiving place. The first verse sets the tone of the song, with the singer lamenting the fact that the world can make fun of the dreams that people have and that there is no empathy or understanding for those who fail. The second verse emphasizes this point further, with the admonition to keep your failures and disappointments to yourself, as there is no solace to be found from the world.
The chorus drives home the theme of the song, with the assertion that the world can forget you in an instant, and that it will continue on without you. The final verse offers some consolation to those who have failed or who are struggling, with the suggestion that it is all a joke and that the world is making fun of them. This can be interpreted as a call to not take the world too seriously or a reminder that everyone will face failure and ridicule at some point.
Overall, This Funny World is a poignant and insightful commentary on the human condition and the nature of the world we live in. It speaks to the struggle to find meaning and purpose in a world that can be indifferent and cruel.
Line by Line Meaning
This funny world
The world in which we live in is strange and ironic.
Makes fun of the things that you strive for
The world often ridicules our goals and aspirations.
Can laugh at the dreams you're alive for.
The world can easily dismiss our most cherished dreams and desires.
If you're beaten, conceal it!
If you fail or encounter setbacks, don't show weakness.
There's no pity for you
Others will not sympathize with your struggles.
For the world cannot feel it.
The world is indifferent to our pain and suffering.
Just keep to yourself
Don't share your problems with others.
Weep to yourself.
Keep your tears and emotions hidden from others.
This funny world
Again, highlighting the ironic nature of life.
Can turn right around and forget you.
People and society can easily overlook or disregard you.
It's always sure
Without fail, the world will continue to turn.
To roll right along when you're through.
Life goes on for everyone else even after you've faltered or failed.
If you are broke you shouldn't mind.
If you're financially struggling, don't be affected by it emotionally.
It's all a joke, for you will find
The world doesn't take your situation seriously and treats it as a laughing matter.
This funny world is making fun of you.
The world is mocking and belittling you, adding insult to injury.
Writer(s): Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
Contributed by Aaron O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.