With swing to

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Hello.I need your help again.Below are the lines from a song 'I love to singa'I love to sing-aAbout the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a,I love to sing-a,About a sky of blue-a, or a tea for two-a,Anything-a with a swing-a to an "I love you-a,"I love to, I love to sing!And I don't get the meaning of 'swing' in this particular context. There are a bunch of meanings for 'swing' on dictionaries. Somehow none of them seems to fit in with the phrase 'to an 'I love you-a'' Would you help me on this, if you please?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Tea For Two is an old soft shoe number from the "swing era" (20's, 30's, 40's) where each of the four main beats in a typical "fox trot" measure had an underlying LONG-short pattern, the long being twice as long as the short - as in the following emboldened words:
(Rockabye Your Baby - 1918)

And swing it from Vir - gin - a, to Ten - ne - see with all the love that's in ya - - - -

a mil - lion ba - by kis - ses I'll de-li-ver, If you will on - ly play that Swan-ee River

A - bout the moon - a and the June - a and the spring - a (Iambic hexameter??)

Aedilis · Answer

Thank you Avangi

Please excuse my late reply. I couldn't login yesterday.
I am really impressed at your profound knowledge of music as well as of English.

CalifJim · Answer

The meaning of swing you're looking for has to do with the 'swinging' or 'rocking' or 'swaying' or 'jazzy' rhythm of a piece of music.

swing
7: jazz that is played (as by a big band) with a steady beat and that uses the harmonic structures of popular songs and the blues as a basis for improvisations and arrangements (www.m-w.com)

Thus, "anything with a swaying, jazzy rhythm to accompany the words 'I love you' in a song"

CJ

Avangi · Answer

CalifJimswing 7: jazz that is played (as by a big band) with a steady beat and that uses the harmonic structures of popular songs and the blues as a basis for improvisations and arrangements (www.m-w.com)

My complements to M-W. They have the melodic and harmonic structure spot on, but swing is essentially dance music, and they've missed the nature of the rhythm. I doubt its practitioners would buy the definition. John Phillip Sousa and Johann Sebastian Bach were unchallenged masters of playing with a steady beat. Glenn Miller's "big band" swung to perfection, but few insiders considered it jazz. Art Tatum swung playing solo piano (no big band), but "boogie woogie" piano definitely does not swing, nor does rock 'n roll. Steady beat? For sure!

I recall the gist of a quote from Woody Herman, taking a swipe at some big jazz bands that famously failed to swing, notably the Stan Kenton Orchestra:
"It's gotta swing. If it doesn't swing, then you're competing with the Philhrmonic, and man, those cats cut you." (Edit. Kenton sometimes swung.)

Re "the harmonic structrures of popular songs and the blues," it's worth noting that all of the big bands from the swing era featured "original compositions" which were strictly instrumental (no vocal), and the public knew them by heart. Some used a blues structure, but many did not. Examples: Glenn Miller's "In The Mood," and "String Of Pearls," Woody Herman's "Four Brothers," and "Early Autumn," Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing," and "Stompin' at the Savoy," Gene Krupa's "Leave Us Leap," Stan Kenton's "Eager Beaver" (this one really swung). Often lyrics were written for these after they became popular.
"In The Mood" is 12-bar blues, but the others are not. None would really be considered "popular songs" in the traditional sense.
This isn't meant to imply that the big swing bands didn't play and record many many popular songs, both with and without vocalists! Famous examples of "without" would be Artie Shaw's "Begin the Beguine" (Cole Porter) and Les Brown's "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm," both recordings outrageously popular.

CalifJim · Answer

AvangiMy ~~complements~~ compliments to M-W.

I agree that the definition of swing is lame, but as I recall it was the only one that mentioned music at all, and that's the sort of thing the OP needed.

CJ

Aedilis · Answer

Wow! So many replies!
Thank you CalifJim. Thank you again Avangi.
You both were really helpful. Owing to your detailed explanations I was able to learn many things-much more than what I asked.
This forum is the only place I can count on when I fail to get an answer from anywhere else. Thus I always appreciate your kind help.
Have a nice day all

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