Blues in the Night
Harold Arlen
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My mama done tol' me When I was a little My mama done tol' me, son A woman will sweet talk And give you the big eye But when that sweet talk is done A woman's a two faced A woman's something that would leave you Singing the blues in the night Now the rain is falling Heaven can hear you calling Doo wee Heaven blows the lonesome whistle Blowing across the threshold Doo wee Doo wee ta too tee A crickety crack go wickety wack The blues in the night Evening breeze will start Trees that crying in the All in the world wood haunted slide When you Get the blues In the night So take my word Or the mocking bird Will sing a sadder kind of song Maybe he knows things He knows things Can go wrong A match is a maybe Love is the same job Whenever the four winds blow I've been to some big town Had me some big town But there is one thing I know, one thing I know A woman's a two faced A woman's something that would leave you Singing the blues in the night Blues in the night
The easy, fast & fun way to learn how to sing: 30DaySinger.com
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
12 facts about this song
Origin"Blugs in the Night" was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer in 1941 for a movie also named "Blues in the Night".
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AwardsThe song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1942.
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PerformanceThe original film-version was sung by William Gillespie.
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StyleThe song is classed as a blues ballad, melding elements of jazz and blues in a popular format.
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Musical StructureHarmonically, "Blues in the Night" is more complex than the average pop song of its day, borrowing elements from the blues to heighten the sense of melancholy in the song's melody.
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CoversOver the years it has been covered by numerous artists including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore and Katie Melua.
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FormulaThe song uses the blues' "AAB" formula in its lyrical structure, each of the lyric's first two lines are identical (AA), and the third, set to a different melody and a rapid staccato, is the punch line or 'answer' (B).
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Cultural InfluenceThe song has been recorded by countless singers and remains one of the standards of the Great American Songbook, it is also used in many films and TV series.
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Famous QuotationMercer's lyric used rhymed conversation and the often quoted lines, "my mama done tol' me, when I was in knee pants" in the song.
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Popular ReceptionThe song became a hit during World War II, capturing the mood of disillusionment and loss that many people felt.
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Unique CollaborationAlthough Mercer and Arlen collaborated on numerous projects, "Blues in the Night" is considered their strongest collaboration.
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Different VersionsBing Crosby and Woody Herman recorded the most commercially successful versions in 1942.
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Citation
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"Blues in the Night Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/460654/Harold+Arlen/Blues+in+the+Night>.
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