I was watching an episode of The Ghost Whisperer (Ghost Bride) the other night and right at the end of the programme, during a wedding ceremony a song was used (post production) and it immediately struck me that I had heard it before, but from where? It turned out it was sung by Ella Fitzgerald and the track was “Do I Love you”. I absolutely love this song and although I’ve heard it before a few times, I’ve never been in a position to do any searching while it was fresh in my head.

The song led me to Ella’s renditions of classic Cole Porter songs spread over two albums, volume 1 and 2. I’ve heard and can easily recognise a lot of Porter’s songs but I was shocked to hear so many new ones in the collection. I certainly didn’t realise Cole had written the classics “In the still of the night”, “Too darn hot” and “Beguine the Beguine”. He truly was a master of his craft.

Listening to the album I re-discovered the song “Miss Otis Regrets” and again like “Do I Love You”, I had no idea it was written by Cole Porter. The song is a melancholy song written about the love of a woman, her fall from grace which led to her committing murder and her eventual death by execution. Not a song you’d ever think as romantic but sung by one of the greatest singers of all time, Ella transforms the song and delivers a tragic tale in her own imitable style.

Although very little background information is available for the song, the song was used in the stage production “Hi Diddle Diddle” in 1935. It has been suggested that Cole wrote the short song for friends but this is unconfirmed. Many artists have covered the song notably including Bette Midler, Fred Astaire, Kirsty MacColl and Rosemary Clooney to name but a few.

According to the linear notes from the Cole Porter collection, he was inspired while dining in a restaurant overhearing a waiter give a fellow diner his apologies “Miss Otis Regrets, She’s unable to lunch today”. How accurate this is we may never know – I do hope someone out there has better information!

And to the song … Porter may have started out with the waiter’s words ringing in his ears but it soon took on a whole new angle. Each verse describes different excuses why she (Miss Otis) can’t meet her luncheon date begining with her dalliance with her lover in lover’s lane and ending with her death, hanged in front of an angry mob. The very name Miss Otis reminds me of a black woman from the south and her velvet robe suggests she is of a certain social standing, well to me it does. Taking the gun from her robe she kills her lover and all hell breaks loose! The angry mob take her from her jail cell (no mention of a trial here!) and she is hanged.

Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today, madam,
Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today.
She is sorry to be delayed,
but last evening down in Lover’s Lane she strayed, madam,
Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today.

When she woke up and found that her dream of love was gone, madam,
She ran to the man who had led her so far astray,
And from under her velvet gown,
She drew a gun and shot her lover down, madam,
Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today.

When the mob came and got her and dragged her from the jail, madam,
They strung her up on the old willow ‘cross the way,
And the moment before she died,
She lifted up her lovely head and cried, madam…
Miss Otis regrets, she’s unable to lunch today.