Saturday, June 25, 2016

I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

Is a song by Burt Bacharach & Hal David.  The first time I heard the song was by Elvis Costello, from his "sort of punk" years:



In those days - I was still in high school - I was pretty earnest about my Elvis Costello studies, so I recall being particularly moved by the lines:

Like a summer rose
Needs the sun & rain
I need your sweet love
To beat all the pain

It was my first experience with the brilliance of Hal David's lyrics.

Later on, of course, I heard the version lots of folks think is definitive, which is Dusty Springfield's:



Although there are those who prefer Dionne Warwick's:



Maybe because it was produced by Bacharach himself?

Is it weird I still prefer Elvis Costello's?  & no, I can't listen to the White Stripes version.  Nope.

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