Duke Ellington: "It don't mean a thing"(1943)

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for Brunswick Records (Br 6265) on February 2, 1932.

Ivie Anderson sang the vocal and trombonist Joe Nanton and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges played the instrumental solos. In accordance with wikipedia, he title was based on the oft stated credo of Ellington's former trumpeter Bubber Miley, who was dying of tuberculosis. The song became famous, Ellington wrote, "as the expression of a sentiment which prevailed among jazz musicians at the time." Probably the first song to use the phrase "swing" in the title, it introduced the term into everyday language and presaged the swing era by three years.

The Ellington band played the song continuously over the years and recorded it numerous times, most often with trumpeter Ray Nance as vocalist.


- Lyrics:

It Don't Mean A Thing, if it ain't got that swing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It Don't Mean A Thing, all you got to do is sing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

What good is melody, what good is music

If it ain't possessin' something sweet

It ain't the melody, it ain't the music

There's something else that makes the tune complete

It Don't Mean A Thing, if it ain't got that swing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It Don't Mean A Thing, all you got to do is sing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or hot

Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It Don't Mean A Thing, all you got to do is swing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop