Lyrics
I cried for you
Now it’s your turn to cry over me
Every road has a turning
That’s one thing you’re learning
I cried for you
What a fool I used to be
Now I’ve found two eyes
Just a little bit bluer
I’ve found a heart
Just a little bit truer
I cried for you
Now it’s your turn to cry over me
Song Notes
Billie recorded this song twice in the studio, once for Columbia in 1936 and then again for Verve in 1954.
Like many of her re-records, I Cried For You benefits from her maturity. Across her three primary decades, her shifting demeanor as a more authoritative and evocative singer set the standard for modern singing.
Even as the 1954 version dives into a double time feel for the second repeat of the song form, she holds a saucy gravitas, that no peppy tempo could ever obliterate. Her cool is unshakeable, and her ability to portray ironic depth, in a song with a simple, if even shallow premise, is spectacular.
Recorded at Session #70 New York April 14, 1954, billed as Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra (Verve). With Oscar Peterson (po), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Ed Shaughnessy (d), Billie Holiday (v), and Charlie Shavers playing foil to Lady’s chill modern affect – he is practically gymnastic on the trumpet.
–BillieHolidaySongs.com