{"id":8271,"date":"2011-08-24T06:25:37","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T10:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=8271"},"modified":"2011-08-24T06:26:01","modified_gmt":"2011-08-24T10:26:01","slug":"midweek-music-break-im-beginning-to-see-the-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/midweek-music-break-im-beginning-to-see-the-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Midweek Music Break: “I’m Beginning to See the Light”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>While working on the What’s in a Song<\/em>\u00a0posts about “Body and Soul,” my Big Band playlist reminded me of a song which threatened to swamp my attention to the nominal subject of the moment. “I’m Beginning to See the Light” was a #1<\/a> recording for Harry James’s band in 1945, with a vocal by Kitty Kallen. (It had also been a #6 hit for its composer, Duke Ellington, and #5 for Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots.)<\/p>\n

Unlike “Body and Soul,” this one has an unmistakable melody: each stanza consists of three lines repeating virtually the same tune, followed by a simple refrain of the song title. You couldn’t escape the tune if you tried.<\/p>\n

But somehow the song doesn’t become boring<\/em>, and I think the reason for that lies in the lyrics. The Poets of Tin Pan Alley<\/a><\/em>, by Philip Furia, says:<\/p>\n

Ellington’s luck with lyricists hit its peak in 1944 when Don George gave an exuberantly casual setting to the catch-phrase “I’m Beginning to See the Light”…<\/p>\n

What is even more artful about the lyric is George’s witty use of a list structure; not only does he develop a catalog of “light” images, he refreshes the tritest metaphors by reading them in literal terms — from stars in the eyes, to a suggestive “afterglow,” and the paradoxical “now when you turn the lamp down low I’m beginning to see the light.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think Kitty Kallen’s voice helps, too — the playful, flirtatious spin she puts on the phrasing. Here’s her version:<\/p>\n

[Below, click Play button to begin <\/em>I’m Beginning to See the Light. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left — a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 3:12 long.]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

[audio:imbeginningtoseethelight_harryjameskittykallen.mp3|titles=’I’m Beginning to See the Light’|artists=Harry James Orchestra + Kitty Kallen]<\/div>\n

Lyrics:<\/p>\n

I’m Beginning to See the Light<\/em><\/strong>
\n (Duke Ellington, Harry James, Johnny Hodges, and Don George;
\nas sung by Kitty Kallen)<\/em><\/p>\n

I never cared much for moonlit skies
\nI never winked back at fireflies
\nBut now that the stars are in your eyes
\nI’m beginning to see the light<\/p>\n

I never went in for afterglow
\nOr candlelight on the mistletoe
\nBut now when you turn the lamp down low
\nI’m beginning to see the light<\/p>\n

Used to ramble through the park
\nShadowboxing in the dark
\nThen you came and caused a spark
\nThat’s a four-alarm fire now<\/p>\n

I never made love by lantern-shine
\nI never saw rainbows in my wine
\nBut now that your lips are burning mine
\nI’m beginning to see the light<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And here’s Ella Fitzgerald with the Ink Spots:<\/p>\n

[Below, click Play button to begin <\/em>I’m Beginning to See the Light. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left — a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 2:45 long.]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

[audio:imbeginningtoseethelight_ellafitzgeraldinkspots.mp3|titles=’I’m Beginning to See the Light’|artists=Ella Fitzgerald + The Ink Spots]<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While working on the What’s in a Song\u00a0posts about “Body and Soul,” my Big Band playlist reminded me of a song which threatened to swamp my attention to the nominal subject of the moment. “I’m Beginning to See the Light” was a #1 recording for Harry James’s band in 1945, with a vocal by Kitty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2252,74],"tags":[1521,2534,2535,2536,2537,2538],"class_list":{"0":"post-8271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-midweek-music-break","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ella-fitzgerald","9":"tag-im-beginning-to-see-the-light","10":"tag-duke-ellington","11":"tag-don-george","12":"tag-kitty-kallen","13":"tag-harry-james","14":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-29p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}