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Something Cool lyrics
Something cool
I'd like to order something cool
It's so warm here in town and this heat gets me down
Yes, I'd like something cool
My, it's nice to simply sit and rest awhile
You know it's a shame
I can't think of your name
I remember your smile
I don't ordinarily drink with strangers
I guess I usually drink alone
But you were so awfully nice to ask me
And I'm so terribly far from home
Like my dress I must confess it's very old
But it's simple and neat, it's just right for this heat
Save my furs for the cold
A cigarette, no I don't smoke them as a rule
But I'll have one, it might be fun with something cool
I'd bet you wouldn't imagine that I once had a house
With so many rooms you couldn't count them all
I'll bet that you couldn't imagine I had fifteen different boys
Who would beg and beg to take me to a ball
And I know you couldn't picture me
The time I went to Paris in the fall
And who would think the man that I loved
Was quite so handsome and quite so tall
Well, it's through, it's just a memory I had
One I almost forgot since the weather's so hot
And I'm feeling so bad about a date, oh wait, I'm such a fool
He's just a guy who stopped to buy me something cool
By Marshall Bowden
"Something
cool...I'd like to order something cool" says the dame in the smoky,
slightly seedy bar that is something out of a Raymond Chandler story.
The kind of place where maybe there could be trouble at any moment;
where maybe a couple of guys in raincoats with noses as crooked as a
gerrymandered voting district come in and start asking questions. And
that can't be anything but trouble for you.
In the meantime, though, here is June Christy, a songbird fromSpringfield, Illinois whose real name is Shirley Luster. She's been
singing for a while, in fact she replaced Anita O'Day as Stan Kenton's
singer. Some said she sounded a bit too much like O'Day, but she
developed her own style and her soft, but ever-so-slightly husky voice
was perfect for the Kenton band. Kenton was proud of Christy's success,
so much so that he helped her get signed to Capitol Records as a solo
artist. In 1953 she recorded Something Cool , originally as a
ten-inch, and later (1955) added four tracks to make it a twelve-inch
LP. The arrangements were all by Kenton cohort Pete Rugolo, who also
conducted the orchestra on the recordings. Interestingly, the same day
that Christyrecorded the four new tracks for the LP version of Something Cool she also began recording an album of duets with former boss Kenton at the piano. More on that later.
So
we have this very unusual song, "Something Cool". It became June
Christy's signature song, which is amazing given its narrative and
emotional complexity. Our gal in the bar tells us she wants "something
cool" in response to our request to buy her a drink. It's warm here in
town, she tells us, and she's far from home. She can't seem to remember
your name, but she knows you from somewhere because she never drinks
with strangers. You know better, but you offer her a cigarette, and she
demurely accepts—"I never smoke as a rule /but maybe one
/it might be fun /with something cool." She tells you about her glory
days, when she lived in a large home and had lots of male callers. But
that is all in the past. Returning to the present she refers to you as
"a date" ÂÂÂÂwhoa, there sister! —before
coming back to the here and now: "Oh wait /I'm such a fool /He's just a
guy /who stopped tobuy me /Something cool."
Try
to imagine a pop song today that packs that much information, that much
emotional baggage, that much character development. Your head will
probably explode trying to. Equally difficult is imagining the singer
that would be able to put such a quirky song across and make it her
signature song, a song associated with her immediately in the minds of
listeners. It's the equivalent of Frank Sinatra's "One for My Baby"
with the added intoxicant of sexual tension. The song allows the
listener to see completely from the perspective of the female barfly
who is the speaker; it also allows the male listener the fantasy of
being the one to whom she is speaking. It is a unique part of the Great
American Songbook.
The overall mood of Something Cool is melancholy, the colors all shades of blue. The incredible "Lonely House" is an aria from Kurt Weill's Street Scene with devastating lyrics by Langston Hughes. The Rugolo arrangement is
perfect, with curdling trombones and piping background flutes conveying
the loneliness felt by the singer. "The Night We Called It A Day" is a
well known ballad, but this version features a nice arrangement
featuring alto saxophonist Bud Shank trading phrases with Christy, who
sings a wordless, otherworldly vocalese that is surreal. "Midnight Sun"
is another unusual number, a ballad with lush lyrics by Johnny Mercer
and splashes of rhythmic interplay from the orchestra. The LP version
of Something Cool is a perfect balance between the melancholy
ballads and more swinging, uptempo numbers, while the original ten-inch
version included less uptempo material to dispel theoverall blue mood.
You can listen to it either way on CD and you will have two slightly
different, though equally fine, listening experiences.
Then
there's Bud Shank, who provides the alto saxophone solos on the
recording that provide a counterpoint to Christy's vocals and often
underpins the lonely, late night feeling of some of the songs. Shank
came to prominence with the bands of Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton
during the 1940s. In the '50s he worked extensively with Howard
Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars as well as leading his own quartet.
Considered a West Coast "cool" player, Shank was well recognized for
his ability to swing and his bright, instantly recognizable alto sound.
A four-time winner of the National Academy of Recording Arts &
Sciences' Most Valuable Player Award, Shank was also a member of the
L.A. Four along with Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton, and Laurindo Almeida.
He's still performing, his schedule packed with tours, festivals,
clinics, and major jazz festivals, and has recently relocated to
Tucson, Arizona. Shank has lent his talents to many,many recordings,
but it is impossible to imagine what Something Cool would have been like without his distinct sound and beautiful playing.
In 1960 stereo was all the rage, and many popular artists rerecordedtheir earlier hits in new stereo recordings. Nat "King" Cole, Jo
Stafford, and Frank Sinatra were among the vocalists who did this, and
Capitol wanted a stereo version of Something Cool with which
to tantalize both new record buyers and those 93,000 or so who had
already parted with their cash to purchase either the ten-inch or mono
LP version of the recording. The Ruggolo arrangements are the same,
still sounding shiny and modern, and Shank is back as well to provide
his gorgeous alto sax solos and fills. The main difference is Christy's
singing, which is quite similar, but somehow has a deeper quality, a
resonance with the lyrics that she couldn't quite manage at age 28 when
she hadcut the original mono versions. In its stereo version Something Cool weathered the musical changes of the 1960s and could still be purchased
at many record stores right up until the end of the vinyl album era.
From its first recording as a ten-inch vinyl disc to the end of its LP
run the album probably stayed in print for around 25 years.
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