Billie Holiday - Lady sings the blues

[maureen]

and i thought it was terrible
she has a good voice but her reinterpretation was Orwellian doublespeak
what woman worth her sex would rather see her man leave?
that's the point-"aint' nobody's buisness what i do"
the foolish, passionate, crazy things
you can't change that-there's no song without the crazy, passionate, inappropriate things

mary didn't strike me as crazy, foolish, passionate or soulful
her stance, demeanor, presentation was totally passionless
what was the point of doing a billie holiday tune
and particularly that one?
she was taking a song about the black pit of pain, addiction, stamina, passion, rebellion, ardor, and triumph of the spirit and turning it into a sexless, soulless, incomprehensible, detached choral sampler of restrained effect, totally devoid of the primary elements of the form and totally in contradiction to it
i can't imagine a worse rendition
and when she tried to get throaty is seemed a parody

good god-billie literally voiced the songs of the damned with their faces uplifted towards heaven

mary for all her 1 and a half irish woman stature, kept to the safe middle ground addressing her reinterpretation to some concept i can't comprehend-as far as i can tell she didn't even have any sod under her fingernails so came off as so much marmalade on white toast

imho

i think we just have differing tastes on this one flor dear

[maureen]

and when she went up tempo
i thought of those bad russian rock renditions

[micrologus]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBtN8h85F-I&feature=related"]YouTube - Billie Holiday AINT NOBODYS BUSINESS[/ame]

[Florestan]

Originally Posted by maureen

what woman worth her sex would rather see her man leave?

Me, for a start. I have a zero tolerance attitude to domestic violence. I don't think there is anything 'authentic' in accepting it or condoning it.

[maureen]

hmmm
i understand your feelings
but a songs interpretation is crucial isn't it?

the song is not about condoning abuse
it's about the depth of feeling, the acute, intense, need for a man
that would leave a woman more bereft at being abandoned by that man
who is like a drug
than any physical pain
and billie was one of those who was acutely addicted to her man and heroin and music and the blues and speaking about her reality

for me
it's about understanding a woman's heart and soul in that era and that time in that situation and honoring her right to share her truth

she was saying it ain't no-body's business
it's an anthem to her strength, a denial of anyone's right to judge
and yes a statement that the physical abuse was not the cutting pain
the abandonment was more painful and made her accept what others consider unacceptable
just like many other abused people

to invert the lyrics is sort of like saying her song, her truth shouldn't have been shared
it's a facile, prettying up that was exactly what she was saying other's had no business doing

it goes to the essence of the song-

i don't necessarily mean to keep beating a dead horse but i keep trying because it's a music forum and i think the argument rests in the standards one applies to interpreting another's creative work

do we have some responsibility to stay true to their intent?

or is it in the public domain and so open to any interpretation?

i would argue for the former
and this song in particular and that inversion in particular

[maureen]

thanks for posting the vid

[Despina41]

Originally Posted by maureen

the song is not about condoning abuse
it's about the depth of feeling, the acute, intense, need for a man
that would leave a woman more bereft at being abandoned by that man
who is like a drug
than any physical pain
and billie was one of those who was acutely addicted to her man and heroin and music and the blues and speaking about her reality

Err, actually, Billie Holiday tried a few times to do without men, that is, female-female relationships. So in her case, I think it's more about longing for any kind of deep emotional relationship.
You might be interested in this biography:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Day-Faces-Billie-Holiday/dp/0306809591"]http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Day-Faces-Billie-Holiday/dp/0306809591[/ame]

[maureen]

i didn't know that
but certainly my point is the same
the lyrics are about deep need that goes beyond common sense
addiction and fear of abandonment
and in this instance (ain't nobody's business) is about denying the censure of convention
and changing the lyric to go along with current convention is a huge contradiction that renders the song pointless
and therefore a silencing of the original intent of the song