Torch song

For other uses, see Torch song (disambiguation).
For the 1933 film, see Torch Singer.

A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship.[1][2] The term comes from the saying, "to carry a torch for someone", or to keep aflame the light of an unrequited love. It was first used by the cabaret singer Tommy Lyman in his praise of "My Melancholy Baby".[3]

The term is also explicitly cited in the song "Jim", popularized by versions by Dinah Shore, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald:

Someday, I know that Jim will up and leave me
But even if he does you can believe me
I'll go on carryin' the torch for Jim.
I'll go on lovin' my Jim.

John Prine wrote a song, "The Torch Singer", which appeared on his 1972 album, Diamonds in the Rough. The song opens with the line, "The night club was burning from the torch singer's song." Prine's narrator feels emotionally exposed by the singer's performance, "standing both naked and bare," and turns to alcohol for solace. [4]

Torch-singing is more of a niche than a genre and can stray from the traditional jazz-influenced style of singing; the American tradition of the torch song typically relies upon the melodic structure of the blues.[2] Examples of a collection are Billie Holiday's 1955 album Music for Torching and Entre eux deux by Melody Gardot and Philippe Powell.

  1. ^ Smith, L. (2004). Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and the Torch Song Tradition. Praeger Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 978-0275973926.
  2. ^ a b Allan Forte, M. R. (2001). Listening to Classic American Popular Songs. Yale University Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0300083385.
  3. ^ Shanaphy, Edward, ed. (2003). "My Melancholy Baby". Piano Stylings of the Great Standards. Shacor. p. xi. ISBN 978-1-929009-14-5.
  4. ^ "John Prine | Diamonds in the Rough | Lyrics, Liner Notes, Chords, Info". jpshrine.org. Archived from the original on 2020-01-07.