There was a day this week at work where we started listening to some Sinatra and I’ve had him echoing around in my head ever since.
This is a good thing.
We listened through many of the classics before switching up the day to something else and the one song we never got to was my absolute favourite of his, his rendition of The Lady Is A Tramp.
Not only is the song intelligently written, using the language of the times to scoff at the upper crusts of society and empower women to be themselves, be free and do what they like, but musically and lyrically the song is genius in how it allows performers to really show personality and be playful while still delivering sharp commentary.
This gets missed by many who only know the Sinatra version but it’s easier to hear when it’s being sung by a woman.
Originally written for the film Babes In Arms, the lyrics are “about a down-to earth lady who scorns such affectations as arriving late at the theatre, going to crap games with royalty and wearing furs to Harlem nightclubs. Because the singer refuses to behave pretentiously, other women label her a tramp…” (Great American Songbook)
Here is the original version of the song.
And one of the more well known versions sung by Ella Fitzgerald:
Now, flip this and put a male singer in and many initially react the same way Rita Hayworth does when Sinatra sings this directly to her in a club in Pal Joey, a role for which he won a Golden Globe and put his stamp on the classic tune.
Enter the duet.
The song as sung above in Pal Joey is meant to woo, attract and impress. Put Frank and Ella together and you have, put simply, an absolute celebration of friendship and respect.
And they pick up the tempo a hell of a lot and have some REAL fun with the song.
I’ll come right back to Sinatra in a moment, because I haven’t even scratched the surface yet on my absolute favourite thing about this song…
It’s worth posting Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s duet of the tune as well. They take the traditional approach and lyrics of Frank and Ella and update it and, you can see it, the friendship between these two is so genuine. It’s beautiful to watch.
The song is a classic and I love the duets, but let’s move finally onto the most well-known version of the song, Sinatra’s studio recording.
And this is where I switch to thinking about the song and the lyrics and focus on the voice of the legend himself.
When we were sitting in the office after the Sinatra session and I mentioned we hadn’t heard The Lady Is A Tramp, I also claimed the song holds the single truest note of music ever sung, in my humble opinion.
Whenever I hear it I wait for it. One word. One note. And I get chills when he hits it; honest to goodness chills every time.
I leave you now with that recording. The word is “broads” and the note comes at 2:26.
You’ve all heard it I’m sure, but don’t skip ahead… the build up is the best part and you don’t get the payoff of the truest note ever sung without listening to all the building notes before it.
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Further Reading: Why This Song Sucks
A post written to condemn this song but follows the author’s stream of consciousness learning about the song, ultimately leading to the conclusive line that the author’s analysis should “in no way be trusted”. Good for a chuckle.