Palabras da man ao corazón: Letters in Music: "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Letters in Music: "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"

You hear her voice and it is instantly recognizable: exuberance, pure sound, joy and positive energy. Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), died on this day twenty years ago, but she remains the undisputed queen of jazz singing and American popular song.

NPR mentioned in the section "Jazz Profiles" that "Ella's rare combination of confidence and innocence reflected the spirit of mid-20th century America. Despite her popularity, she never deviated from her commitment to jazz as an art form. She could improvise right next to saxophonists like Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young, then turn around and perform a classic American ballad while infusing it with her natural swing."

I first heard Ella Fitzgerald when I was nineteen and attending university. It was one of our lecturers, an American, Peter Redmond, who taught us "Técnicas de expresión escrita" and brought one of her songs to class: "Miss Otis Regrets" (1956). This song was actually composed by Cole Porter, and you will see the lyrics are contained but devastating once you come to the end of the song and know the real reason why Miss Otis is not coming to lunch. See Wikipedia for a hypothesis of where Cole Porter drew inspiration from.

I have clear memories of this class. Peter just opened it by giving us the prompt: Miss Otis regrets she is unable to lunch today and asked us to make guesses of why she wasn't able to come. Then he gave us all small bits of the song and played it for us so that we could place them in order. And later, after some language work, a debate ensued about the true meaning of the song and the historical and political events behind it. An unforgettable lesson.

"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is a 1935 popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. But today we bring it to you in the voice of Lady Ella, the Queen of Jazz, even though the song has been covered by many, among others: Nat "King" Cole, Gregory Isaacs, Barry Manilow, Dean Martin, Anne Murray, Willie Nelson, Linda Scott, Sarah Vaughan, Madeleine Peyroux or Paul McCartney.

The song is heart-breaking, if you think about it: writing a letter to myself "making believe it came from you", saying the things you normally say, or those I wish you said.