# What is the "true" definition of a "Torch Song" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199 "2006-03-28T03:36:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZeroZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/f04885/32.png) [@ZeroZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZeroZero)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/1 "2006-03-28T03:36:46Z")
Looking on Google is see a lot of different definitions of what exactly is a “Torch Song.” I always thought it was a song about unrequited love. Usually but not almost song in a slow ballad. Can you have a fast “Torch Song?” Anyone know what the actual definition is. Or at least have a few examples ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/2 "2006-03-28T04:19:56Z")
Generally a love song, with the added connotations of a smoky room and a whisky-voiced siren onstage. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/3 "2006-03-28T04:22:06Z")
Oh, and the song itself is usually a standard. Think most of the sultry repertoire of Edith Piaf, Peggy Lee, and Marlene Dietrich. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/4 "2006-03-28T05:09:49Z")
The term “torch song” itself comes from the idea of “holding a torch” for the return of a former lover. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/5 "2006-03-28T05:18:47Z")
\ I see a torch! Look! It’s in _Cafe Society_! Let’s go there. \ ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/6 "2006-03-28T05:38:42Z")
**Great Torch Songs** Judy Garland, _[The Man That Got Away](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/harold-arlen-the-man-that-got-away-lyrics.html)_ Billie Holiday, _[Good Morning Heartache](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie-holiday/17791.html)_ Frank Sinatra, _[One For My Baby](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank-sinatra/55223.html)_ Rickie Lee Jones, _[Company](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Company-lyrics-Rickie-Lee-Jones/0C2B64DB7B1E216B48256A8D0029A86A)_ Etta James, _The Man I Love_ Patsy Cline, _[Crazy](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/nelson-willie/crazy-2500.html)_ Edith Piaf, _[Non Je Ne Regret Rein](http://manwithtwohands.blogspot.com/2004/09/song-for-day-non-je-ne-regrette-rien.html)_ The 5th Dimension, _[One Less Bell to Answer](http://www.thetabworld.com/The_5th_Dimension__One_Less_Bell_To_Answer_lyrics.html)_ ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/7 "2006-03-28T05:48:00Z")
And the term seems to have appeared in the 1920’s. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/8 "2006-03-28T05:50:27Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > **Great Torch Songs** > > Judy Garland, _[The Man That Got Away](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/harold-arlen-the-man-that-got-away-lyrics.html)_ > Billie Holiday, _[Good Morning Heartache](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie-holiday/17791.html)_ > **Frank Sinatra, _[One For My Baby](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank-sinatra/55223.html)_** > Rickie Lee Jones, _[Company](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Company-lyrics-Rickie-Lee-Jones/0C2B64DB7B1E216B48256A8D0029A86A)_ > Etta James, _The Man I Love_ > Patsy Cline, _[Crazy](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/nelson-willie/crazy-2500.html)_ > Edith Piaf, _[Non Je Ne Regret Rein](http://manwithtwohands.blogspot.com/2004/09/song-for-day-non-je-ne-regrette-rien.html)_ > The 5th Dimension, _[One Less Bell to Answer](http://www.thetabworld.com/The_5th_Dimension__One_Less_Bell_To_Answer_lyrics.html)_ Doesn’t it have to be by a female singer? When a guy sings it, unless he’s in drag, it just has a different impact. Think of Isaac Hayes’ version of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” or the entire oeuvre of Lyle Lovett. You feel the tragedy, but ultimately expect them to pull it together and move on. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/9 "2006-03-28T05:53:24Z")
I ultimately expect all of them to pull themselves together and move on. So yes, a man can sing a torch song just like a woman can. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-definition-of-a-torch-song/350199/10 "2006-03-28T07:16:20Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > I ultimately expect all of them to pull themselves together and move on. So yes, a man can sing a torch song just like a woman can. Jeff Buckley did an absolutely amazing version of “The Man That Got Away.”