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9. Dinah

Ethel Waters

[Verse 1]CarolinaGave me DinahI'm the proudest oneBeneath the Dixie sunNews is spreadin''Bout our weddin'I hear church bells ringin'Here's the song my heart keeps singin': [Chorus]DinahIs there anyone finerIn the state of Carolina?If there is and you know her, show herDinahWith her Dixie eyes blazin'How I love to sit and gaze inTo the eyes of Dinah Lee [Bridge]Yet, every nightMy, how I shake with frightBecause my Dinah mightChange her mind about me [Chorus]DinahIs there anyone finerIn the state of Carolina?If there is and you know her, show herDinahWith her Dixie eyes blazin'How I love to sit and gaze inTo the eyes of Dinah Lee [Bridge]Yet, every nightMy, how I shake with frightBecause my Dinah mightChange her mind about me
[Outro]But if DinahEver wandered to ChinaI would hop an oceanJust to be with Dinah Lee

  • Verse 1

    This verse introduces Dinah as a source of joy and pride, highlighting the speaker’s romantic devotion. For Ethel Waters, whose early life was marked by neglect and hardship, this longing for love and stability carries profound weight. Born into poverty, Waters grew up in a tumultuous environment, running errands for drug dealers to survive and entering into a traumatic, abusive marriage to a man at a young age. Against this backdrop, Dinah represents an idealized form of love—one that offers safety, celebration, and the chance for redemption.
    Though speculation might point to Ethel Williams, a vaudeville dancer and actress, as Dinah’s inspiration—given their deep relationship—this connection is not definitive. Instead, Dinah could symbolize a broader longing for the kind of love that Waters had often been denied: one built on mutual respect and emotional security. The imagery of "church bells ringin’" and "news is spreadin’ ’bout our weddin’" transforms this longing into an act of hope, imagining a love that could be openly celebrated rather than hidden or suppressed. This verse, therefore, becomes a reclamation of love as a source of healing and renewal, rooted in Waters’ personal struggles and triumphs.

  • Chorus

    The chorus maintains the Southern imagery introduced in the first verse, evoking the Carolinas and "Dixie eyes" to emphasize Dinah’s allure. This repeated reference to the South carries significant cultural weight. For Black people during the Harlem Renaissance, the South was both a place of ancestral roots and the site of systemic racism and oppression. By framing Dinah within this Southern context, the song draws on the nostalgia and complexity of this heritage. The South becomes both a romanticized space of origin and a site of transformation, where the speaker claims pride and love despite the South's fraught history.
    Dinah’s "Dixie eyes blazin’" evoke vitality and individuality, presenting her as a figure of strength and beauty who transcends the limitations imposed by her environment. This celebration of Dinah aligns with the Harlem Renaissance’s emphasis on reclaiming and redefining Black identity. The Carolinas, invoked as Dinah’s origin, serve as a reminder of the cultural richness that Black Americans carried with them to Northern cities like Harlem, even as they sought new opportunities and freedoms.

  • Bridge & Outro

    The bridge captures the speaker’s vulnerability, revealing a deep-seated fear of losing Dinah. This insecurity could stem from both personal and societal pressures. For Ethel Waters, who navigated relationships in a world that often condemned queer love, this trembling fright might reflect the precariousness of maintaining a connection in a society hostile to alternative sexualities. Waters’ ability to thrive within Harlem’s queer subcultures—while hiding her relationships from broader public scrutiny—mirrors the duality expressed in this lyric: love as both a source of fulfillment and a potential site of loss.
    At the same time, the fear described here is universal, transcending the specifics of identity or circumstance. It speaks to the inherent risks of love, where the joy of connection is always accompanied by the possibility of separation. The outro uses the hyperbolic metaphor of crossing an ocean to emphasize the speaker’s unwavering devotion. This extravagant imagery reflects the depth and genuineness of the speaker’s love, framing it as boundless and transcendent. For Waters, whose relationships often existed within constrained circumstances, this lyric captures the yearning for a love that defies barriers—be they geographic, social, or emotional.
Portrait of Ethel Waters Portrait by Carl Van Vechten, 1938 Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress