Good Night
Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born to and partial… Read Full Bio ↴Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born to and partially raised by Chinese parents in Paris and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University, attended Columbia University, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world. He has recorded more than 92 albums and received 19 Grammy Awards.

In addition to recordings of the standard classical repertoire, Ma has recorded a wide variety of folk music, such as American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, the tangos of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has also collaborated with artists from a diverse range of genres, including Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, Chris Botti, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miley Cyrus, and Sting.

Ma has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize in 1978, The Glenn Gould Prize in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, the Polar Music Prize in 2012, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize in 2022. He was named as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020. Aside from English, Ma is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and French.

Ma's primary performance instrument is the Davidov cello, made in 1712 by Antonio Stradivari

Ma's mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist, composer and professor of music at Nanjing National Central University (now relocated in Taoyuan, Taiwan; predecessor of the present-day Nanjing University and Southeast University). They both migrated from the Republic of China to France during the Chinese Civil War. Ma's sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, played the violin and piano professionally before obtaining a medical degree from Harvard and becoming a pediatrician. The family moved to New York City when Ma was seven.

From the age of three, Ma played the drums, violin, piano, and later viola, but settled on the cello in 1960 at age four. When three-year-old Yo-Yo said he wanted a big instrument, his father went to see Etienne Vatelot, a foremost violin maker in Paris who, after a chat, lent him a 1/16th cello. He jokes that his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up the cello instead. When his father realized that Yo-Yo was ready for a better teacher, a well-known cello instructor, Mme Michelle Lepinte, was selected. He began performing before audiences at age five and played for presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy when he was seven. At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister in an event introduced by Leonard Bernstein. In 1964, Isaac Stern introduced them on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and they performed the Sonata of Sammartini. He attended Trinity School in New York but transferred to the Professional Children's School, where he graduated at age 15. He appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.

Ma studied at the Juilliard School at age 19 with Leonard Rose and attended Columbia University, but dropped out. He later enrolled at Harvard College. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of cellist, conductor and Ma’s childhood hero Pablo Casals. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor during his first summer there in 1972.

Even before that time, Ma gained fame and performed with many of the world's major orchestras. He has also played chamber music, often with pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship from their days at Juilliard. Ma received his bachelor's degree in anthropology from Harvard in 1976, and in 1991 received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.

Yo-Yo Ma has been referred to by critics as "omnivorous" and possesses an eclectic repertoire. In addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recorded Baroque pieces using period instruments; American bluegrass music; traditional Chinese melodies, including the soundtrack to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; the tangos of Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla; Brazilian music, recording traditional and contemporary songs composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Pixinguinha; a collaboration with Bobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified by McFerrin's improvisation); and the music of modern minimalist Philip Glass, in such works as the 2002 Naqoyqatsi.

Ma is known for his smooth, rich tone, soulful lyricism, and virtuosity. He released a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 24 for solo violin and Zoltán Kodály's Solo Sonata.

On May 1, 2019, he performed at Paranal Observatory in the Atacama desert. He said that his interest in astronomy motivated him to visit and perform there.

Ma's albums include recordings of cello concertos, sonatas for cello and piano, works for solo cello, and a variety of chamber music. He has also recorded in non-classical styles, notably in collaboration with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, Chris Botti, Chris Thile, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miley Cyrus and Sting.

Good Night
Yo-Yo Ma Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

This beat is crazy
This club amazing
This is where I'm gonna be
I'm on the floor don't worry me

And this guy is crazy
His frame amazing
I got my sin all over him
As we dance erotically

His body interlocks with mine
Sends chills all up and down my spine
And I pull him close and whisper in his ear

Oh, I said

What will it be
For you and me
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?

What will it be
For you and me
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
I feel so crazy
She feels amazing
Ooh the way she's touching me
I can't imagine what it would be

Her body interlocked with mine
Sends chills all up and down her spine
She pulls me closer and whispers in my ear

Oh, she said

When will it be
For you and me
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?

What will it be
For you and me
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?

Everything in the room started spinning
Got his voice in my head

She was turning me on
How she work in the middle
But there's something about her
That get me at middle
She looks me in my eyes and lord she has to say

This beat is crazy
This beat is crazy
This beat is crazy
This beat is crazy

What will it be
(What will it be)
For you and me
(For you and me)
Is it good night?
(Is it good night?)
Or is it good morning?
(ooh)
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
(ooh)
Or is it good morning?

When will it be
(Tell me what will it be-e-e)
For you and me
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
(Whoa)
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
(Is it good morning?)
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
(Is it good morning?)

When will it be
For you and me
(For you and me)
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
(Ooh, is it good morning?)
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?

So, what will it be
For you and me
Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?

Is it good night?
Or is it good morning?

This beat is crazy.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Yo-Yo Ma's song "Good Night" depict a lively and thrilling club atmosphere, where the singer finds themselves in the midst of a pulsating beat and an amazing club environment. They are deeply immersed in the moment, dancing on the floor without any worries or cares. The singer encounters a person who captivates them with their eccentricity and impressive physique. They share a passionate and erotic dance, their bodies interlocking and sending shivers down their spines. In an intimate moment, the singer whispers to their partner, questioning the nature of their relationship, asking whether it will be a good night or if it will transition into a good morning.


The second part of the song shifts perspectives, with the singer now being the one touched and amazed by their dance partner. The connection and attraction between them intensify as they dance together, and the partner whispers in their ear. The lyrics then repeat the same theme of questioning whether it will be a good night or a good morning for both of them.


The repetition of these lines and the mention of the spinning room suggest a sense of disorientation and a loss of control, perhaps reflecting the intoxicating effects of the club atmosphere. The constant reference to the beat being crazy highlights the relentless energy and excitement of the music. Ultimately, the song explores the passionate and intense connection between two people in a club setting, and the uncertainty of where their encounter will lead, whether to a good night or a bright morning.


Line by Line Meaning

This beat is crazy
The rhythm and music in this club are exhilarating and intense.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MIKKEL ERIKSEN, TOR HERMANSEN, SHAFFER SMITH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@mattjohnson9962

To my brother, who is sleeping in heaven under the stars.

@nitro1697

Matt Johnson 😢

@marylipscombe1711

I echo your sentiments, so is my beloved brother, my best friend and my husband.

@mengqiong4134

@@marylipscombe1711 this is just a joke but since you put those three things together, so you married your brother? xd it’s just a joke no offence

@prudhvikadapalla8172

just cheer, ur brother would be watching u so that u don't fear.

@ali18398

@@mengqiong4134 she might be refferring to three separate love ones 💖

18 More Replies...

@watutman

The song was written in honor of the birth of a child of Brahms's friends Bertha and Artur Faber in 1868. Years earlier, Brahms had briefly fallen in love with Bertha when she was a young visitor to his female choir in Hamburg, and during the playful courtship she used to sing him a lilting 3/4-time Viennese melody. The romance ended, but the friendship endured, and the melody that Brahms later composed for the private lullaby was a creative counterpoint to the earlier love song that the child's mother would remember singing to the composer. When he presented the gift to the Fabers, Brahms included this note to her husband: "Frau Bertha will realize that I wrote the 'Wiegenlied' for her little one. She will find it quite in order . . . that while she is singing Hans to sleep, a love song is being sung to her." Bertha was the first person to sing Brahms's Lullaby, both love melodies dancing flirtatiously in her head. Bertha's husband Artur was the receiver of Brahms' last words right before he died, when he brought the composer a glass of wine. Brahms said, "Oh that tastes very fine. You are a kind man." https://ffrf.org/component/k2/item/18436-brahms-the-freethinker

@np8754

Thank you for adding the link, all very interesting to read if not a little sad.

@Roberthoven

Very reminiscent of Carl Jung's last words... 🍷🍾

@edwardcaulfield67

Thank you for sharing

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