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Down In The Depths (on The Ninetieth Floor)
"Down in the Depths (on the Ninetieth Floor)" is a torch song written by Cole Porter, for his 1936 musical ''Red, Hot and Blue'', in which it was introduced by Ethel Merman. The lyric scheme juxtaposes images of high and low. It is a lament from the point of view of a rich woman in a penthouse apartment higher than any building but the Empire State Building, who looks down on the busy city life below her but nevertheless feels she is at the lowest and poorest point of her life because she is lonely. Porter's melody is musically intertwined with the lyric scheme in a similar manner to his song "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." The song was a late edition to the show only being added during the Boston tryout. Notable recordings *Johnny Hartman - ''Songs from the Heart (Johnny Hartman album), Songs from the Heart'' (1955) *Ella Fitzgerald - ''Ella Loves Cole'' (1972), ''Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall'' (1973) *Sylvia Syms (singer), Sylvia Syms - ''Songs By Sylvia Syms'' (1952) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship.Allan Forte, M. R.: ''Listening to Classic American Popular Songs,'' p. 203. Yale University Press, 2001. The term comes from the saying, "Torch#Love, to carry a torch for someone", or to keep aflame the light of an unrequited love. It was first used by the cabaret singer Tommy Lyman in his praise of "My Melancholy Baby". The term is also explicitly cited in the song "Jim (song), Jim", popularized by versions by Dinah Shore, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald: Torch-singing is more of a niche than a genre and can stray from the traditional jazz-influenced style of singing; the American tradition of the torch song typically relies upon the melodic structure of the blues. An example of a collection is B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |