September by Earth, Wind and Fire
My son, Christopher, loves this song. I do not. Sorry, but I really don’t. I didn’t like it when it first came out, and I still don’t. But, I have said that I will take requests, and this is one of them.
Let’s start with the lyrics:
Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing
As we danced in the night
Remember how the stars stole the night away
Hey hey hey
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day
Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda
My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love
Remember how we knew love was here to stay
Now December found the love that we shared in September
Only blue talk and love
Remember the true love we share today
Hey hey hey
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shiny days
The bell was ringing
Our souls were singing
Do you remember, never a cloudy day
There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shiny days
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya de ya
Written over the course of a month, the song originated with a four-chord progression designed by Earth, Wind and Fire guitarist, Al McKay. The group had brought in songwriting newcomer Allee Willis to write for their next album.
She says that they were playing the beginnings of September when she came in the room. She was so excited because she thought this was the happiest song ever written. As the song progressed, she hoped that fellow writer Maurice White would find actual words for the ba de ya sections. Finally, she asked, “What the f_ does ba de ya mean?” White responded with “Who the f_ cares?” Allee says that this was the best song writing lesson. Never let the words get in the way of the groove.
Maybe I am missing something here. As a performer, I always want to know what the words mean. I want to know what the song means. Why did they choose the 21st of September and not the 22nd? Was the Autumnal Equinox of any importance in the song? According to an interview with NPR, Allee Willis clears all this up. They chose the 21st because it fit the song best.
So, this is a song about love, about dancing under the stars.
I found out some cool stuff about the composers and Earth, Wind and Fire. Here goes. . .
Allee Willis has gone on to write more hits for Earth, Wind and Fire; as well as hits for The Pointer Sisters, and The Pet Shop Boys. She also wrote the best-selling TV theme ever – I’ll Be There for You – the theme for Friends.
Then there is Maurice White, the founder of EW&F. Wow. He worked for Chess Records in the early to mid 1960s, as a session drummer, and worked with just about everybody: Etta James, Chuk Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, the list goes on and on.
In 1966, he left Chess to join the Ramsey Lewis Trio, replacing the existing drummer. While a part of that group, he was introduced to the Kalimba, or African thumb piano, and incorporated it into several of their songs.
Then, in 1969, he and two friends formed a group, got a recording contract and called themselves the Salty Peppers. They had a moderate hit, but their second song flopped. They changed their name and moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. The name Earth, Wind and Fire reflected elements present in White’s astrological chart. I always wondered why water wasn’t present. Now I know.
White continued to bring the kalimba into the mainstream. He brought in a full horn section. Out of 22 nominations, E,W&F won 7 Grammys. He wrote songs for and produced songs for Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, El Debarge, once again the list goes on and on. He stopped performing with E,W &F in 1994 due to Parkinson’s Disease. Although he continued to write and produce. He came out of retirement for the occasional performance until, as best I can tell, 2008. He died in 2016 at the age of 74.
Hmm. I still don’t care for the song. But, I have a new-found respect for the composers and the band itself. They were huge, and deservedly so.
I’ll be posting some versions of this song every day on my Minnich Music Facebook page, so visit there to hear them! If you have any stories about September or favorite versions, let me know in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you.
I’ll be posting roughly once a week with a new song. I’m trying to make the songs seasonal, but I can make exceptions. So, if there’s a song that you’d like some background on, or questions about what it means, let me know.
Thanks for reading! Until next time!
My son, Christopher, loves this song. I do not. Sorry, but I really don’t. I didn’t like it when it first came out, and I still don’t. But, I have said that I will take requests, and this is one of them.
Let’s start with the lyrics:
Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing
As we danced in the night
Remember how the stars stole the night away
Hey hey hey
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day
Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda
My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love
Remember how we knew love was here to stay
Now December found the love that we shared in September
Only blue talk and love
Remember the true love we share today
Hey hey hey
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shiny days
The bell was ringing
Our souls were singing
Do you remember, never a cloudy day
There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shiny days
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya de ya
Written over the course of a month, the song originated with a four-chord progression designed by Earth, Wind and Fire guitarist, Al McKay. The group had brought in songwriting newcomer Allee Willis to write for their next album.
She says that they were playing the beginnings of September when she came in the room. She was so excited because she thought this was the happiest song ever written. As the song progressed, she hoped that fellow writer Maurice White would find actual words for the ba de ya sections. Finally, she asked, “What the f_ does ba de ya mean?” White responded with “Who the f_ cares?” Allee says that this was the best song writing lesson. Never let the words get in the way of the groove.
Maybe I am missing something here. As a performer, I always want to know what the words mean. I want to know what the song means. Why did they choose the 21st of September and not the 22nd? Was the Autumnal Equinox of any importance in the song? According to an interview with NPR, Allee Willis clears all this up. They chose the 21st because it fit the song best.
So, this is a song about love, about dancing under the stars.
I found out some cool stuff about the composers and Earth, Wind and Fire. Here goes. . .
Allee Willis has gone on to write more hits for Earth, Wind and Fire; as well as hits for The Pointer Sisters, and The Pet Shop Boys. She also wrote the best-selling TV theme ever – I’ll Be There for You – the theme for Friends.
Then there is Maurice White, the founder of EW&F. Wow. He worked for Chess Records in the early to mid 1960s, as a session drummer, and worked with just about everybody: Etta James, Chuk Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, the list goes on and on.
In 1966, he left Chess to join the Ramsey Lewis Trio, replacing the existing drummer. While a part of that group, he was introduced to the Kalimba, or African thumb piano, and incorporated it into several of their songs.
Then, in 1969, he and two friends formed a group, got a recording contract and called themselves the Salty Peppers. They had a moderate hit, but their second song flopped. They changed their name and moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. The name Earth, Wind and Fire reflected elements present in White’s astrological chart. I always wondered why water wasn’t present. Now I know.
White continued to bring the kalimba into the mainstream. He brought in a full horn section. Out of 22 nominations, E,W&F won 7 Grammys. He wrote songs for and produced songs for Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, El Debarge, once again the list goes on and on. He stopped performing with E,W &F in 1994 due to Parkinson’s Disease. Although he continued to write and produce. He came out of retirement for the occasional performance until, as best I can tell, 2008. He died in 2016 at the age of 74.
Hmm. I still don’t care for the song. But, I have a new-found respect for the composers and the band itself. They were huge, and deservedly so.
I’ll be posting some versions of this song every day on my Minnich Music Facebook page, so visit there to hear them! If you have any stories about September or favorite versions, let me know in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you.
I’ll be posting roughly once a week with a new song. I’m trying to make the songs seasonal, but I can make exceptions. So, if there’s a song that you’d like some background on, or questions about what it means, let me know.
Thanks for reading! Until next time!
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