Sophisticated Lady

"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, to which words were added by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval from Ellington, who described them as "wonderful — but not entirely fitted to my original conception." That original conception was inspired by three of Ellington's grade school teachers. "They taught all winter and toured Europe in the summer. To me that spelled sophistication."

After Hours is a 1961 studio album by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan. This was Vaughan's first album with just guitar and double bass accompaniment, it was followed by 1963's Sarah + 2 in a similar vein.

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded After Hours three stars and said that "the emphasis throughout is exclusively on Sassy's magnificent voice. The program mostly sticks to ballads, with a couple of exceptions...and is a quiet and intimate affair, with Vaughan more subtle than she sometimes was. Despite a lightweight version of "My Favorite Things" that will not remind listeners of John Coltrane, this is an excellent if brief set (34-and-a-half minutes) with some fine jazz singing".

Sarah's accompanied by Mundell Lowe (guitar) and
George Duvivier (double bass). Pictured along with Sarah in video is Richard Davis. Recorded in RKO-Path Studio, New York City, July 18, 1961. (Roulette Records)

Sophisticated Lady

Smoking, drinking, never thinking of tomorrow, nonchalant
Diamonds shining, dancing, dining with some man in a restaurant
Is that all you really want?

No, no, no, no sophisticated lady
I know, you miss the love you lost long ago
And when nobody is nigh you cry

They say into your early life romance came
And in this heart of yours burned a flame
A flame that flickered one day and died away

Then with disillusion deep in your eyes
You learned that fools in love soon grow wise
The years have changed you, somehow, I see you now

Smoking, drinking, never thinking of tomorrow, nonchalant
Diamonds shining, dancing, dining with some man in a restaurant
Is that all you really want?

No, no, no, no sophisticated lady
I know, you miss the love you lost long ago
And when nobody is nigh you cry
You cry
You cry