“In the Wee Small Hours”: 70 Years of a Masterpiece, Chapter 2
Plot and Repertoire
The album deals with the protagonist’s bitter sleeplessness, unable to free himself from the pain of his romantic breakup, which intensifies at night. The musical atmosphere created by Nelson Riddle alternates between dreamlike landscapes and more raw, earthly scenes, and Frank Sinatra offers a restrained performance full of nuances that deeply moves without resorting to dramatic excess.
“In The Wee Small Hours of The Morning”
This composition by Dave Mann and Bob Hilliard came into the singer’s hands by chance. In late 1954, Mann had an appointment with a music publisher in New York to present the song, of which he was especially proud. On his way, he ran into Sinatra and Nelson Riddle, who were heading to Capitol Records. The three musicians knew each other and had worked together, and they began a friendly conversation where Mann’s new song soon came up. Frank invited him to play the piece right then and there, and after hearing it, he enthusiastically exclaimed: “That’s my kind of song!”
“In the wee small hours of the morning,
While the whole wide world is fast asleep,
You lie awake
And think about the girl,
And never ever think of
Counting sheep.
When your lonely heart
Has learned its lesson,
You’d be hers if only
She would call.
In the wee small hours of the morning,
That’s the time you miss her
Most of all.”
It’s a prodigious work that condenses the entire narrative universe of the album. Beneath its simple lyrics, without metaphors or symbolism, lies Frank’s serene and resigned interpretation and Riddle’s ethereal sonic tapestry – the true message of a desperately lonely man who has run out of tears to shed for his impossible love.
Article written by Mahnuel Muñoz (Al Mal Tiempo, Frank Sinatra Blog) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574582459302
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