Sway

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My cover of the sensual Latin pop standard, Sway (¿Quién será?), first made popular by Dean Martin in 1954. I'm using a karaoke arrangement based on Michael Bublé's 2003 version of the song. This was a special birthday request from Mary, my dance partner in life.

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway.
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore.
Hold me close, sway me more.
Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease.
When we dance, you have a way with me.
Stay with me, sway with me.

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you.
When you dance, I'm entranced,
I can't speak.
When we sway, I go weak.

I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins.
Make me thrill as only you know how.
Sway me smooth, sway me now.

[INSTRUMENTAL]

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you.
When you dance, I'm entranced,
I can't speak.
When we sway, I go weak.

I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins.
Make me thrill as only you know how.
Sway me smooth, sway me now.

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway.
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more.

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with me.
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me.
When marimba starts to play
Hold me close and make me sway.
Like the ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more.
Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with me.
When we dance, you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me.

Sway was originally (in 1953) a Mexican song, ¿Quién será?, with rather melancholy lyrics about a man wondering if he will ever love again. ("¿Quién será?" means "Who will it be?") But then Norman Gimbel, the same lyricist who write the English words for The Girl From Ipanema (and the lyrics for Killing Me Softly With His Song), wrote an English version of the lyrics that completely changed the mood of the song, about a man passionately expressing his love for his dance partner. And the title of the English version became Sway.

Change in lyrics. I changed one line I didn't like:

to:

When you dance, I'm entranced, I can't speak.
When we sway, I go weak.

Use of targetted harmony. Every version of the song that I've heard does not use harmony. I do use it, but sparingly, in key places — especially, at the end of the song, to really heighten the drama. For this reason too, I only harmonize a section of a line, not the whole line, for maximum dramatic impact.

The art of sensual singing. I have chosen many of the songs I sing not only because I like them, but to challenge me and help develop my singing in new ways. In a real sense, Sway is a kind of "master class" in the art of sensual singing. One important point: The degree to which singing is "sensual" is not a matter of the singer being in a certain mood or adopting a certain facade or style with the voice ("sultry", or whatever). It's about the actual sound the singer is making as he sings the words, and the degree to which that sound actually pleasurably "tickles" the ear (and from there, potentially even making some of the rest of the body "tingle" pleasurably too). (Recent studies of ASMR and countless ASMR experiments, are a related phenomenon.) Beyond mentioning that, there's not much more for me to say, since it's better for you to just listen to it — and feel whether it does indeed tickle your ears!