If You Go · Shirley Horn
You Won’t Forget Me
℗ 1991 Verve Label Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Released on: 1991-11-04
Producer: Richard Seidel
Producer: Joel E. Siegel
Composer Lyricist: Michel Emer
If You Go
(If you should go, if you should leave him alone
There’ll be no spring or birds to sing
There’d be no sun to shine on him)
If you go, if you love me no more
If I know that you want me no more
Then the sun would lose its light
And day turns into night
Night without stars
Deep night without stars
If you go, if you leave me alone
If I know, you’re no longer my own
Winter would replace the spring
The birds no more would sing
This cannot be; stay here with me
My heart would die I know
If you should go
(Orchestral Break)
Winter would replace the spring
The birds no more would sing
This cannot be, oh, stay here with me
My heart would die I know
If you should go
CR’s Take
OVERALL SCORE
73
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Not long ago, Barbra Streisand praised Horn to Oprah Winfrey as “a wonderful musician who understands the power of intimacy and how to convey the deepest meaning in a song. When Shirley whispers a lyric, she speaks volumes.”
Pianist Marian McPartland, whose NPR show, “Piano Jazz,” has featured Horn several times: “Everything she does, she does with such great taste and romance. To sit back and listen to something as serene as Shirley is a joy. It’s amazing that after all she’s been through, she’ll come through just as well, maybe even better, because of it.”
“Shirley’s like a good wine: She’ll just age and age and age,” says pianist McPartland. “As we go down through the years, people will know and feel who she was and what she had to offer because she’s the best. Ella, Sarah, Carmen — they were so strong and hit you over the head. You have to have an open heart and ears to come to Shirley Horn, but once you get there, she’s got you.”
Two years ago
People ask, “Do you remember where you were when blah blah?” When I first heard Shirley Horn, I was visiting San Francisco. I’d bought a nice travel radio and was lying in the bath listening to a local radio station. When she came on, I couldn’t understand how she was talking to me, reaching me in a way no one else ever had or has since. Yes, a great singer. Yes, a great pianist. But the engagement and communication were astonishing. Thank you for this film with its insights and respect. I wish many more people knew of her.
To anyone not familiar with the great (RIP), Shirley Horn. it’s not too late. Miles Davis named her his favorite singer-pianist. Shirley is a perfect timing master and understood, as did Miles, the importance of attenuation, the space between notes. Here is one such example. My favorite selection, If you go. Listen with absolute attention and witness a master at the height of her artistry.
(If you should go, if you should leave him alone
There’ll be no spring or birds to sing
There’d be no sun to shine on him)
If you go, if you love me no more
If I know that you want me no more
Then the sun would lose its light
And day turns into night
Night without stars
Deep night without stars
If you go, if you leave me alone
If I know you’re no longer my own
Winter would replace the spring
The birds no more would sing
This cannot be, stay here with me
My heart would die I know
If you should go
(Orchestral Break)
Winter would replace the spring
The birds no more would sing
This cannot be, oh, stay here with me
My heart would die I know
If you should go
Shirley Horn Trio Live at The Village Vanguard 1991
Charles Ables (bs)
Steve Williams (dr)
01. Change Partners 01:07
02. I’ve Got the World on a String 03:34
03. How Am I To Know? 07:37
04. Wild Is the Wind 12:10
05. The Rules of the Road 20:15
06. One at a Time 25:40
07. Nice & Easy 31:37
08. If You Love Me 38:09
09. I’m Just Fooling Myself 46:08
10. Isn’t It a Pity? 49:34
11. Return to Paradise 56:35
12. Quietly There 01:05:04