[78-L] Lazy lyrics: Cheek to cheek
Ron L
lherault at bu.edu
Mon Jan 26 11:53:04 PST 2009
The cares evaporate quickly. The lucky steak does the same.
Ron
-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Davies
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 12:54 PM
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
Subject: [78-L] Lazy lyrics: Cheek to cheek
When Bing Crosby created a retrospective album of his career for
Decca, with spoken intro, etc., he rerecorded his old Victor and Columbia
hits with a little organ trio. This was his opportunity to use the term
"people" instead of "darkies" on "Mississippi mud".
But Crosby's crowning achievement as a singer, for me, has to be
when he recorded "Cheek to cheek" and corrected a long-standing
irritation. Irving Berlin produced superior tunes in the last century and
was famous for his triple rhymes, but in "Cheek to cheek" he compares a
positive with a negative, which is jarring.
"Heaven, I'm in Heaven, and the cares that hung around me thru the
week,
Seem to disappear like a gambler's lucky streak,
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek."
Why would worries evaporating be like good luck running out?
Crosby, who famously went in for racehorses, had the wit to fix
the lyric on this recording, which I think is the "Bing sings, Bregman
swings" album (Verve, 1956).
listen online:
http://www.last.fm/music/Bing+Crosby/_/Cheek+to+Cheek
And, I too get irritated by illogical puzzle songs like "The
thing" and the one about the Christmas toy that no one ever knew what it
was, etc.
- Stephen D
Calgary
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