Behind Billie Holiday's Albums - Essay Example

This essay is aimed at understanding the message in the songs of Billie Holiday. The essay concentrates on the songs in the album “Lady Sings the Blues”. In this album, she conveys through the songs that she has been betrayed by the one she loved and she believes that she will not be able to have him back again. The primary mood in the song is not of anger towards her love who left her but is towards her sadness and despair. The first song in the alum is “no good man”. Even though the song starts by complaining about the man in her life and the way he treats her, she soon moves onto her love and the kind of love she desires from him.

But concludes the song on a sad note that there is no good man who can fulfill her desires and love her the way she desires. This showcases her lack of hope in finding the good man. The following passage in the song depicts the above: With “God bless the child”, second song in the album, Billie tried to touch a different topic – money (not love). It is said that this song was composed with reference to the quarrel that Billie had with her mother with respect to money. Hence, she highlights the hard realities of life such as the fact that having money attracts relationships but they are not true and permanent.

She keeps repeating the idea you need to have (earn) money and your papa and mama having it does not matter. “Good morning heartache” is another song in the album through which Billie showcases her sadness, agony and despair. She is heartbroken and her agony is portrayed in this song. She also goes on state that this situation is here to stay: In “Love me or leave me”, Billie address the incomplete love. She shows her frustration of not knowing if her boyfriend loved her or not and she cannot stand the suspense any more.

She portrays her unconditional love and chooses to live alone rather than living with someone else. “Too marvelous for words” is a