qué hacer con el talento: tres casos

Dinah lo vuelve a hacer. La escucho y se me ríen lo huesos. Me siguen sobrando orquesta y arreglos, pero la época es lo que tiene. La época y vender discos, que como yo me imagino el tema no hubiera vendido ni la mitad. Por eso me parece tan magnífica la historia de Songs in the key of love, con un Stevie con veinticinco años -se dice pronto- diciéndole a los señores productores: hasta aquí hemos llegado; ahora se graba como yo digo. Pero esos casos de rebeldía frente al poder económico, y más en esa época y siendo negro, son escasos.

Detrás del Call me... vuelven a estar los grandes. Y lo de Sammy con las cinco sílabas es de traca. Busco otras versiones y todas se me antojan sonrojantes comparadas con la de Dinah, hasta que llego a Judy Garland. Y aquí me paro, porque no quiero describirlo. Simplemente pasen y vean.

Respecto a la historia de la canción, aquí hay buen material del cual tirar.

Call me irresponsible
Call me unreliable
Go on and throw in, 
Undependable too

Well, do my foolish alibies
Bore you
Well I'm not clever
Baby I just adore you

Go on and call me unpredictable
Tell me I'm inpractical
Rainbows I'm inclined to pursue

Ooh go on and call me irresponsible
Yes I'm unreliable
but it's undeniably, it's undeniably true
I'm irresponsibly mad about you

La historia del Songs in the... está perfectamente contada aquí, y en otros muchos lugares. Durante años, hace bien poco, fue mi disco fetiche. Ahora hace tiempo que no lo escucho, pero hoy, enlazando una idea con otra, he llegado a él. Voy a poner un tema del disco que nunca he puesto, ni en este ni en el anterior cuaderno: Ordinary pain. Un tema del cual un amigo dice que son dos en uno (2:40). No le falta razón. La clave está en Shirley Brewer. Por cierto, tremenda la letra del tema, también del ciego. La pera.

Canta el zángano:

When by the phone, in vain you sit
You very soon in your mind realize
That it's not just an ordinary pain in your heart

When you by chance go knock on her door
Walkin' away you're convinced that it's much more
Than just an ordinary pain in your heart
It's more than just an ordinary pain in your heart

Don't fool yourself, tell no one else
That it's more than just an ordinary pain in your heart

When you catch up but she says goodbye
Hold back your tears and before you start to cry
Say you feel unnecessary pain in your heart

Tell her you're glad, it's over in fact
Can she take with her the pain she brought you back
Takin' that ordinary pain from your heart
It's more than just an ordinary pain from your heart

Don't fool yourself but tell no one else
That it's more than just an ordinary pain in your heart
In your heart, in your heart, in your heart

Y le replica la zángana:

You're just a masochistic fool
Because you knew my love was cruel
You never listened when they said
Don't let that girl go to your head

But like a play boy you said, "No"
This little girl mind you will blow
But then I blew you out the box
When I put my stuff on key and lock

It makes me feel kind of sick
To know love put you in a trick
I knew our love would have to end
The day I made it with your friend

Giving your love to one unreal
Like a big fool I know you feel
But in this lovie-dovie game
With all it's joy there must be pain

But now the time has surely come
This game don't seem like so much fun
You're cryin' big crocodile tears
Don't match the ones I've cried for years

When I was home waiting for you
You were out somewhere doing the do
You know I'd really like to stay
But like you did I've go to play

You're dumb to think I'd let you be
Scott free without some pain from me
I heard your song and took a chance
But to your music I can't dance

Go tell your story, 'Sob-sad'
About you blowin' what you had
Since one ain't good enough for you
Then do yourself see how you do

Ordinary pain
Ordinary pain
Ordinary pain