By Ann Alex
Here
is another great song I’ve decided to write about in my occasional series of
what I consider great jazz songs. Last time I tackled No Moon At All; lately I’ve discovered Crazy Rhythm, which has cropped up in our Blue Jazz Voices singing
class at Sage Gateshead.
Consider this:-
Crazy Rhythm here’s
the doorway
I’ll go my way,
you’ll go your way
Crazy Rhythm, from
now on we’re through
Here is where we have
a showdown
I’m too high hat, you’re
too low down
Crazy Rhythm here’s
goodbye to you
They say that when a
high brow meets a low brow
Walking along
Broadway
Soon the high brow he
has no brow
Ain’t it a shame and
you’re to blame
What’s the use of
Prohibition
You produce the same
condition
Crazy Rhythm, I’ve
gone crazy too.
When
you express lyrics in prose, it always sounds a bit naff, but I’ll attempt a
prose version. After all, a skilled
lyricist (Irving Caesar in this case) would have written prose if that was the
best way to get across his meaning.
The
crazy rhythm is of course this jazz tune (and others by implication) which the
lyricist says he’ll leave behind as this new music is too ‘lowdown’ for a
highbrow like him. But when this is
attempted, he finds it’s not possible as the jazz gets him involved too much
and he loses his musical bearings (‘no brow’).
This is the fault of the entrancing music, which has the same effect as
strong drink, which makes him feel quite crazy.
As
with many jazz songs, the social history of America is treated with a wonderful
light touch. We have themes of musical
snobbery, great implied praise for the new jazz music, and mention of the
failure of Prohibition to make any real change, except perhaps to create illicit
drinking dens with music. Quite a subversive lyric.
I
especially like phrases such as ‘here’s the doorway’ and ‘walking along
Broadway’, when I picture someone walking along a New York street with sounds
of music emerging from every door, and the amusing ‘no brow’ and also the
rhyming of Prohibition and condition, which emphasises the meaning intended.
And
all this is set to a jaunty tune (Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn) to which I
guess you could dance the Charleston.
For good measure, there is also a long verse, too much to write here,
which is really effective. It compares the jazz tunes to Nero fiddling while
Rome burned and Father Knickerbocker (a symbol for New York when it was under
Dutch influence and called New Amsterdam) also playing music while New York
‘burns’. The second part of the verse
refers to all the immigrants coming to Manhattan, but they soon start to play
jazz and they discard their native folk songs!
As a folkie I am none too happy about that – I’m sure they kept both
types of music!
I’d welcome other comments, interpretations etc.
I got the information about Father Knickerbocker from our friend Mr Google, and
I’m sure readers could get the full text of the verse from there.Ann Alex.
Thank you and well done Ann! A brilliant take on what many of us jazz folk just considered a tune to blow or scat on!
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll keep on with this series - I for one can't wait till the next one!
Excellent Ann, you have a flair for this! I have always loved the clever lyrics of "Crazy Rhythm"
ReplyDeleteIt was a coincidence that you decided to write about this Ann, because Jenny and I were disc ussing the lyrics on Monday night and Jenny thought it was about violence and that fisticuffs were involved! I have forwarded your excellent explanations and she has responded: "Well done Ann! She’s done her research and come up with the correct interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI had already begun to question my ideas of violence- it all seemed a bit too rock and roll and Tarantino- but I had gone down the drugs route and wondered if Crazy Rhythm was jazz code for cocaine or something. Ann’s analysis suggests that it is a term for being intoxicated or ‘off your face’ which makes sense. Much more convincing than fisticuffs! She must explain it to George." The last sentence is because George Anyfantis was questioning these lyrics and asking what highbrow/lowbrow etc was! Hard enough for us English to understand!!!
I think Ann meant Crazy Rhythm as being intoxicated by the music (jazz) which was just entering American society - hence 'The Jazz Age'. Other numbers such as Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm - 'Fascinating rhythm, you've got me on the go - Fascinating rhythm, I'm all a-quiver.' Broadway Rhythm, written in the mid '30s, evokes a similar response - Oh, that Broadway rhythm. When I hear that happy beat, I feel like dancin' down the street. I'm sure our good friend Carstairs will come up with a host of other examples from that era.
ReplyDeleteYes Lance I thought that...I will inform Jenny....these performing arts folks get carried away with their imagination!!
ReplyDeleteI'm just so glad that this has lead to so much discussion, especially among my fellow Indigo singers as we need to know about our lyrics. And the piano rag-like version of the tune highlighted by Lance is just brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAnn Alex