Listen to It -- View Billie Holiday's Video Performance of Fine and Mellow with with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster; Gerry Mulligan and Vic Dick

Billie Holiday Performing "Fine and Mellow"
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Billie Holiday's performance of "Fine and Mellow" in the following video clip is a notable classic. For this performance, some of the best jazz musicians of the time joined Billie on the gig. When viewing the clip the first time watch how the jazz musicians use the 12-bar form to structure their solo improvisations. In other words, after Billie sings a stanza of lyrics, one of the instrumentalists will take a solo. That solo will last through one cycle of the 12-bar form. Sometimes they might solo over two cycles of the 12-bar form. Then Billie sings another stanza that is 12-bars long followed by another instrumental solo that is 12-bars in length. Hence both the solos and the lyrics fit into the 12-bar form. By the way, when the jazz musicians improvise, they are well aware what chord is being played, whether it is the I, IV or V chord. With this in mind, they choose notes in their solo improvisation that go well with those chords.

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The Lyrics to "Fine and Mellow"

A stanza of blues lyrics has three lines. These lines follow a format called the AAB format. In other words, as you watch the video of "Fine and Mellow" a second time, note that Billie sings the first line of lyrics over 4 measures of the song. She repeats that line over the next four measures. Then she sings a different line over the last 4 measures of the song. Note the following diagram for one stanza sung over the 12-bar form:

Line A = 4 measures

A repeated = 4 measures

B = 4 measure

Below are 5 stanzas of lyrics that Billie wrote for "Fine and Mellow." Each stanza follows the AAB pattern and fits into one cycle of the 12-bar form. Watch the video a second time, this time listening closely to the lyrics. You should be able to know where you are in the 12-bar forms as you listen. In other words, if Billie sings "He's the lowest . . ." you know you are right around measure 10 in the 12-bar form. When the band plays through measure 12, the 12-bar cycle begins again. Either Billie will sing a new stanza of lyrics or a musician will solo over the 12-bar cycle.

My man don't love me, he treats me oh so mean
My man he don't love me, he treats me awful mean
He's the lowest man, that I've ever seen

He wears high trimmed pants, stripes are really yellow
He wears high trimmed pants. stripes are really yellow
But when he starts in to love mee is so fine and mellow

Love will make you drink and gamble, make you stay out all night long
Love will make you drink and gamble, make you stay out all night long
Love will make you do things, that you know is wrong

Treat me right baby, and I'll stay home everyday
Just treat me right baby, and I'll stay home night and day
But you're so mean to me baby, I know you're gonna drive me away

Love is just like a faucet, it turns off and on
Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on
Sometimes when you think it's on baby, it has turned off and gone