I NEVER LIKED THIS SONG

I have never liked the song The Lady is a Tramp.

I’m basing the first post I’m writing for this new site on the song The Lady is a Tramp.

Clearly, I’m a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a state of writerly befuddlement. Or maybe — just maybe — I’m on to something interesting here. What say we plunge forward and find out?

First, about that song. My problem with is has always been simple yet fundamental: I never liked that the Lady is called a tramp. I also never understood what was so “trampy” about being too hungry for dinner at eight, or loving the theatre but not wanting to show up late. But even if her actions were clearly sinful, I just didn’t enjoy a song about a lady being called a tramp.

Not to toot my own proverbial horn here, but The Great Sinatra may have agreed with me on this, as he was known to perform the song with the lyrics “the lady is a champ.” (Side note: Bravo for that — and for so, so much more, Francis 🙂 )

So you can imagine my surprise when, about a month or two ago, I found myself suddenly liking  The Lady is a Tramp. And by “liking” it, I mean liking it a lot.

To be precise, I found myself liking one particular version of the song.

That video was made a few years back, during the recording of the album Tony Bennett: Duets II, which was released in September of 2011. So, while it hardly qualifies as new, it was new to me. And I like everything about it. I like the juxtaposition of an aging legend with a young pop icon. I like the enthusiasm and playfulness. I like the subtle modification to the lyrics, the blue hair, the dancing, and of course those two amazing voices.

For purposes of changing a decades-old aversion to the song, I like how Gaga changes the meaning of the song , not via significant changes to the lyrics, but by owning the titular put-down and turning it into (cliche alert!) a badge of honor.

It just so happened that I was putting this site together (and trying to think of how to kick off this blog) shortly after I had “discovered” the Bennett/Gaga version, and had it on heavy rotation in my personal playlist. And the more I thought about what I wanted this blog to be, I kept coming back to this song, and my changing opinion of it thanks to this new interpretation.

This site and this blog were designed to be a place for folks who appreciate the art, fashion, films, and other elements of days gone by. I don’t want to merely catalog these things for purposes of historical preservation, but I hope to discuss, explore, celebrate, and interpret them from a 21st-century perspective. And though we will always bring certain preferences and predilections to the discussion, it’s the willingness to re-evaluate and reconsider those opinions that, I believe, will lead to the most meaningful outcomes.

Like listening to a blue-haired pop star sing a song you’ve heard too many times to count, and suddenly (cliche alert #2!) hearing it like you’ve never heard it before.

Now if someone can just get Tony and Gaga to take on Baby It’s Cold Outside …