Sutton was born on t… Read Full Bio ↴Tierney Sutton (b. 1963) is a U.S. jazz singer.
Sutton was born on the 28th June 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska, and was educated at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sutton fronts the Tierney Sutton Band, featuring pianist Christian Jacob, bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt, and drummer Ray Brinker. The band is an incorporated unit and makes all musical as well business decisions together. They tour throughout the world, and have headlined in recent years at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
For eleven years, Sutton taught in the Jazz Studies Department at the University of Southern California. In 2008 she became the Vocal Department Chair at Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, California.
She has recently also been performing in a trio format with flautist Hubert Laws and guitarist Larry Koonse.
* Official site
I'm a Fool to Want You
Tierney Sutton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm A Fool To Want You
To Want A Love That Can't Be True
A Love That's There
For Others Too
I'm A Fool To Hold You
Such A Fool To Hold You
To Seek A Kiss Not Mine Alone
Time And Time Again I Said I'd Leave You
Time And Time Again I Went Away
Then There'd Come The Time When I Would Need You
And Once Again These Words I'd Have To Say
I'm A Fool To Want You
Pity Me I Need You
I Know Its Wrong
It Must Be Wrong
But Right Or Wrong
I Can't Get Along Without You
Time And Time Again I Said I'd Leave You
Time And Time Again I Went Away
Then There'd Come The Time When I Would Need You
And Once Again These Words I'd Have To Say
I'm A Fool To Want You
Pity Me I Need You
I Know Its Wrong
It Must Be Wrong
But Right Or Wrong
I Can't Get Along Without You
In Tierney Sutton's rendition of "I’m a Fool to Want You," Sutton fearlessly tackles the song's themes of self-deception and longing. The lyrics describe a lover who can't resist a relationship that can't last. The singer knows that they are clinging to a love that is doomed because it cannot be true. They know that their lover is not theirs alone, that they share a kiss with the devil they know. The lyrics describe the singer's repeated attempts to leave the relationship but failing always because they find themselves back in the arms of the person they love.
The song is a classic torch song, with a slow, melancholy melody that suits the despairing lyrics. It was originally written in 1951 by Joel Herron, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Wolf, and has been performed by many other famous musicians over the years, including Billie Holiday and Elvis Presley. "I’m a Fool to Want You," is considered a vulnerable ballad that represents Sinatra's perfection in interpreting torch songs. Sinatra's version of the song personalizes the lyrics, making it about his incompleteness without Ava Gardner, his ex-wife, after their divorce.
The song is written in the AABA format, which means that there is an intro, two verses (A), a bridge (B), and a third verse (A). The verses are each twelve measures long, with the A section consisting of eight bars and the B section consisting of four bars. The key is E-flat major, which is a common key for torch songs. The chord progression of the song is relatively simple, consisting of chords I, IV, and V7.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm A Fool To Want You
I acknowledge that I am foolish for desiring you.
To Want A Love That Can't Be True
It's foolish to want a love that is impossible to achieve.
A Love That's There
For Others Too
The love that exists between us is not exclusive to just us, it's for others as well.
I'm A Fool To Hold You
Holding onto you is also a foolish decision.
Such A Fool To Hold You
Taking you into my arms is another foolish action of mine.
To Seek A Kiss Not Mine Alone
I yearn for a kiss that is not just for me.
To Share A Kiss The Devil Has Known
It's as if the devil himself knows that I desire to share a kiss with you.
Time And Time Again I Said I'd Leave You
I have frequently expressed my intention to leave you.
Time And Time Again I Went Away
I have also frequently followed through on those intentions and left.
Then There'd Come The Time When I Would Need You
And Once Again These Words I'd Have To Say
But when the time comes that I need you, I find myself saying these same words again.
I'm A Fool To Want You
I understand that it's foolish to want you, yet I still do.
Pity Me I Need You
Please have sympathy for me, as I am in need of you.
I Know Its Wrong
It Must Be Wrong
I'm aware that what I'm feeling is wrong, it simply must be.
But Right Or Wrong
I Can't Get Along Without You
Despite knowing it's wrong, I can't imagine moving forward in life without you by my side.
Writer(s): FRANK SINATRA, JACK WOLF, JOEL S. HERRON
Contributed by Nathan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.