Too Marvellous for Words

Johnny Mercer’s clever lyrics and Richard Whiting’s melody together make a classic popular song. Recorded by any singer worth their salt.

In 1956 Frank Sinatra recorded it for his album ‘Songs for Swingin’ Lovers’ to Nelson Riddle’s sophisticated big band accompaniment. Such is Sinatra’s immense reputation as a singer of this kind of song that it’s hard to resist the judgement that his interpretation of the song is just the way it should be sung.

Well, I’m going to do just that. I have great admiration of Sinatra’s talent, and in this song we hear displayed the very qualities that made his artistry so seductive. It also shows a flaw at its heart.

The first thing to say is that his command of the song is complete. His voice is ideally suited to it. He is completely at home with Nelson’s arrangement. It fits him like a glove. He presents the song with a kind of suave mastery, in a voice of cool velvet. Cool too in the offhand manner he throws off the lyrics, so much his trademark.

But – here’s the but – he does it as if the words don’t matter much to him. The words – words that for this of all songs are inadequate to the expression of love. Sinatra throws them off, effortlessly. In doing so he allows his vocal interpretation to overwhelm their meaning. He belies their sense, with a vocal mannerism, that cool offhandedness that became a trademark.

In each verse he leans heavily on certain words but not in a way to give support their meaning. Throughout he stresses words that fall on the second beat of the bar, irrespective of the effect on their meaning. For some, those in bold below, Sinatra goes further, and punches them, as a drummer might.

“You're just too marvellous, too marvellous for words
Like "glorious", "glamorous" and that old standby "amorous".
It's all too wonderful, I'll never find the words
That say enough, tell enough, I mean they just aren't swell enough.

You're much too much, and just too "very, very"
To ever be in Webster's Dictionary.
And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
To tell you that you're marvellous - too marvellous for words.

You're much - you're too much - and just too "very, very"
To ever be, to ever be in Webster's Dictionary.
And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds
To tell you that you're marvellous;
Tell you that you're marvellous;
Tell you that you're marvellous - too marvellous for words.”

Try, for a moment, speaking the first line of the first verse as if to the lover they are intended for. The natural emphasis would fall on ‘marvellous’ not on ‘just’ where Sinatra places it. Or the last line of the second verse, where the natural emphasis would again fall on ‘marvellous’ with perhaps a secondary stress on ‘tell’ and ‘you’re’. Nowhere would it fall on ‘that’ which is where Sinatra puts it.

Sinatra’s interest in the words was secondary to his interest in maintaining his characteristic vocal line and control. In this he was a master, but it was at a cost - at the cost of the words. Sinatra’s vocal talent was a marvellous one, even if, sometimes, it was too marvellous for the words.

You can hear his version of this song here, and at the player embedded at top of this blog.