Jo Songs - Part 7

Today, I conclude, for the time being, my tribute to the eternally great Jo Stafford with this thought: If anyone, uninitiated in her music and sound, were to ask me, "What does Jo Stafford sing about" ... or, for that matter, "In her performances, what quality does Jo Stafford project," I would have to reply, simply, "Steadfastness." Jo sang of love, as all others among her contemporaries did but, more specifically, she sang of loyalty, devotion ... steadfastness; she, meeting the criterion of the day for pop singers, sounded romantic but, more meaningfully, she communicated staunchness and dependability. Jo was someone in whom you could believe. And remains so.

This Is Always
Music by Harry Warren, Words by Mack Gordon
Recorded by Jo Stafford
with Paul Weston and His Orchestra 3/29/46

This isn't sometimes –
This is always;
This isn't maybe –
This is always.
Yes, it's love –
The real beginning of forever.

This isn't just
Midsummer madness –
A passing glow,
A moment's gladness.
This is love –
I knew it on the night we met.
You tied a string around my heart.
So how could I forget you?
With ev'ry kiss
I know that this is always.

(Possibly my favorite Warren and Gordon. Stunning Weston arrangement. In Jo's tone is all the joy of the discovery of love: "The real beginning of forever." "This," she sings, "is always" – not "a passing glow" or "a moment's gladness"; this is a Jo Stafford type of love song.)



Through The Years
Music by Vincent Youmans, Music by Edward Heyman
Recorded by Jo Stafford
with Paul Weston and His Orchestra 11/27/47

Through the years, I'll take my place beside you;
Smiling through the years.
Through your tears, I'll keep my place beside you;
Smiling through your tears.

I'll be near, no matter when or where;
Remember, what is mine I'll always share.

Through the night, I'll be a star to guide you;
Shining bright, the clouds may come and hide you.
Through the years, 'til love is gone
And time first disappears,
I'll come to you, smiling through the years.

(This record sounds like something that should be placed in a time capsule. Nowhere is that stalwart quality that Jo possessed more apparent than in this performance.)

Here'll I'll Stay

Music by Kurt Weill, Words by Alan Jay Lerner
Recorded by Jo Stafford
with Paul Weston and His Orchestra 11/10/48

There's a far land, I'm told,
Where I'll find a field of gold.
But here I'll stay with you.

And they say there's an isle deep with clover,
Where your heart wears a smile all day through.

But I know well they're wrong,
And I know where I belong –
And here I'll stay with you.

For that land is a sandy illusion;
It's the theme of a dream gone astray.

And the world others woo
I can find loving you,
And so here I'll stay.

(Others might sell out, or be lured or beguiled ... but not our Jo. Beautiful song, beautifully interpreted; all those here's have so much meaning and weight.)

A Thought In My Heart

Music and Words by Robert F. Calder
Recorded by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae
with Paul Weston and His Orchestra 6/3/49

For ev'ry beautiful rose that ever grew –

I'll keep a thought in my heart for you.
For ev'ry bird in the sky that ever flew –
There'll be a thought in my heart for you.

For each star that twinkles far away
And ev'ry clock that ticks away the time of day –
I'll think of you.

For ev'ry ripple upon the ocean blue –
I'll have a thought in my heart for you.

(One of my favorite Jo and Gordons. I love their humming – what a blend; nobody could touch them, for my dough. Love, too, that urgency in their reprised "I'll think of you.")




Mountain High, Valley Low
Music by Raymond Scott, Words by Bernie Hanighen
Recorded by Jo Stafford
with Paul Weston and His Orchestra 6/3/55

If you need me, I will be near by –
Mountain high, valley low.
My love follows you until the last
Lightning fast, turtle slow.

Journey to the North Star,
South winds blow my thoughts to you.
If you need me, I will be near by –
Mountain high, valley low.

When your hair turns snow white,
You will find me by your side.
I'll be with you though our fortunes sway –
Lantern gay, willow sad.

Go in search of new moon;
Dreams will bridge the skies to you.
If you need me, I will be near by –
Lantern gay, willow sad,
Valley low, mountain high.

(I just about flipped when I learned that Raymond Scott wrote this music; here's one you never heard in a Warner Brothers cartoon. ... Jo is so grave in this performance; her final stanza, in particular, is devastating.)





... To quote Johnny Mercer, "So long, friend" – but not goodbye.