☝️ Key Points
- The song is about a constant and fascinating rhythm that plays incessantly in Ella Fitzgerald's head.
- The rhythm influences her life and drives her crazy.
- She hopes the rhythm stops and longs for peace and normality.
- The song expresses frustration and the desire to be the person she used to be.
- The rhythm makes her restless and causes her to tremble, which surprises the neighbors.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song "Fascinating Rhythm" by
Ella Fitzgerald are about a constant and fascinating rhythm that plays incessantly in her head. This rhythm influences her life and drives her crazy. The words "Got a little rhythm, a rhythm, a rhythm that pit-a-pats through my brain" describe how the rhythm keeps appearing in her head over and over again and is persistent.
She describes how the rhythm appears without warning in the morning and stays with her all day. At some point, she wants to confront the rhythm and tell it to stop. She hopes it listens when she says: "Fascinating Rhythm, you've got me on the go!"
The rhythm makes her restless and makes her tremble. The neighbors wonder why she always trembles like an old car ("flivver"). She describes how she gets up in the morning and jumps around all day, but at the end of the day, she realizes she hasn't accomplished anything.
She says that it didn't used to bother her, but now it makes her unhappy. She asks the rhythm to take a day off and go far away. She longs to be the person she used to be, without being influenced by this fascinating rhythm.
The lyrics of the song show how a particular rhythm can influence a person's life and even drive them crazy. Ella Fitzgerald expresses her frustration with the constant rhythm and longs for peace and normalcy.