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.
Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It haunted me from the start
Something inside of me started a symphony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart
'Twas like a breath of spring, heard a robin sing
About a nest set apart
All nature seemed to be in perfect harmony
Your eyes made skies blue again
What else could I do again
Keep repeating through again
"I love you, love you"
I still recall the thrill, guess I always will
I hope 'twill never depart
All nature seemed to be in perfect harmony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart
Your eyes made skies blue again
What else could I do again?
Keep repeating through again
"I love you, I do love you"
I still recall the thrill, I guess that I always will
I hope 'twill never depart
All nature seemed to be in perfect harmony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart
In Susannah McCorkle's song "Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart," the singer is reminiscing about falling in love. The opening lines describe how the person's smile created a melody that immediately captivated her. The melody haunted her and sparked a symphony inside of her, and as she continues to explain these feelings, she exclaims, "Zing! Went the strings of my heart." This line emphasizes the immediate and visceral effect the person had on her.
The song conjures images of spring and nature being in perfect harmony, as if the world itself is subtlety echoing the emotions she is feeling. The robin's song and the beauty of nature all combine to create an experience in which everything seems to be in harmony with her love. She mentions how the person's eyes make the skies blue again, which shows how even the weather reflects her newfound happiness.
She concludes by repeating the line, "I love you, I do love you." The emotions she feels have not faded over time, and she still remembers the thrill that she felt the first time she fell in love. The song emphasizes the power of music and nostalgia to bring back the powerful emotions of first love.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear when you smiled at me, I heard a melody
Your smile reminded me of a beautiful tune that captivated my attention.
It haunted me from the start
The melody was stuck in my head and I couldn't help but think about it constantly.
Something inside of me started a symphony
Hearing your smile sparked a feeling within me, causing me to create a musical masterpiece in my mind.
Zing! Went the strings of my heart
The emotional impact of the symphony was so strong that it felt like my heartstrings were vibrating with joy and happiness.
'Twas like a breath of spring, heard a robin sing
Being around you felt like a fresh start or a new beginning, like when the first signs of spring emerge and birds start singing.
About a nest set apart
The robin's song was all about finding a special place to belong, just like how I felt about being with you.
All nature seemed to be in perfect harmony
Everything around us felt like it was perfectly synchronized, as if all the elements of nature were working together in unison.
Your eyes made skies blue again
When I looked into your eyes, the world around me brightened up and became more colorful.
What else could I do again
I couldn't resist falling in love with you once again, every time I looked into your eyes.
Keep repeating through again
I couldn't stop myself from declaring my love for you over and over again, with every chance I got.
"I love you, love you"
My love for you was so strong that I had to say it twice, to emphasize the depth of my feelings.
I still recall the thrill, guess I always will
The feeling of excitement and joy that I felt when I first met you is still fresh in my memory, and I know it will stay with me forever.
I hope 'twill never depart
I wish that this feeling of love and happiness will never fade away, and that you will always be a part of my life.
Zing! Went the strings of my heart
The power of my love for you is still so strong that every time I see you, it feels like my heartstrings are being plucked like a musical instrument.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES F. HANLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind